Alcohol
by Eleanore-Rigby
Summary: Bourbon and Smirnoff Ice are a surprising combination that have incredible chemistry.The Black Plague just stays by itself and simmers angrily until someone holds their nose and drinks it.
1. Chapter 1

Sesshoumaru put the empty glass back onto the bar and waited for the old bartender to come around to refill it. What a day this had been, he felt like depression would be a welcome improvement over how he was feeling at the moment.

He reached into the pocket of his black suit and pulled out the money for the extra drinks he planned to have. The funeral had been awful. He had not been sad at the loss, no, it had been the condolensces that had pushed him close to the breaking point, and he needed plenty of alchohol to cheer him up.

Another double and he was starting to perk up into that depression he had found so appealling.

As he took another shot he heard someone sit in the seat that was next to him. Odd, he thought, the people at the bar usually gave him a wide berth of at least three seats on either side. He looked up to see the bartender cleaning a glass and watching his reaction to the newcomer. He looked to his right at the person in the seat and took in their appearance.

All he could see was an oversized sweater and jeans that was leaning its head on the counter. Dark hair was in disarray and he simply turned back to his drink for lack of interst.

"What's the strongest stuff you've got?" a female voice came from under the mass of hair. The bartender chuckled amusedly, "I've got something strong but you might not like it."

"I'll take it." came the confirmation. Without lifting her head from the counter, she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a ten. She held it up over her head and the bartender took it, placing a glass with a tar-like substance in it beside her on the counter.

She grabbed the glass and finally lifted her head. Taking a whif of the offending substance that had already assaulted his own senses, she shuddered and held her nose. Then she downed the entire glass.

After setting it back down, she shuddered again and adjusted the glasses on her nose. Her hair went in every direction as she rested her head on the counter again.

The bartender came back and took her empty glass.

""What on earth was that?" she asked him, hearing him take the glass.

"Old family recipe." the bartender chuckled, "It'll cure anything you've got."

"Are you sure it wasn't just tar?" she asked. At this, the bartender laughed out loud as he walked away without giving a reply.

"He didn't answer me. Maybe it really was tar." the girl said to no one in particular. Sesshoumaru forgot himself and chuckled darkly.

The bartender returned and leaned his elbows on the counter in front of her. He stared at the back of her head and didn't say anything.

"I don't want to talk about it." she told him without looking up. The bartender chuckled again, "But Mr. Taisho looks very curious." he stated. Said man raised an eyebrow at him and frowned, he didn't want to be noticed. For all intensive purposes, he was too miserable to acknowledge the outside world.

"Is that his name?" the girl replied, sitting up. She turned her glasses toward him and looked at him for the first time since being seated.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Taisho." she said.

"Sesshoumaru." he corrected her, giving a short nod before turning back to his drink. The bartender raised his eyebrows at the man, this was an unusual reaction from him, he thought. He turned to talk quietly to the girl, "Why did you sit next to him?" he whispered. Sesshoumaru almost snorted, they were talking as if he couldn't hear them.

"Because he looks just as miserable as I am." the girl said, giving him pause.

"I didn't think I was that obvious." Sesshoumaru said seemingly to himself. The girl laughed softly at this, amazingly still sober after the glass of tar.

"Well, I've gotta go," she suddenly said, getting up and putting a few extra dollars on the counter, "Thanks for the bile, Myoga."

"See you tomorrow, Kid." the bartender said with a chuckle, watching as she walked out the door, and then turned his attention to the man still at the counter, "Feeling talkative today, are we?"

Sesshoumaru said nothing and ordered yet another glass of Bourbon. The bartender shrugged and refilled his glass. Sesshoumaru downed that one too, and thought about the girl that had just left. Her day had to rival his to drink the concoction that was set in front of her. It made him curious. He liked the drinks here, so he would come back again tomorrow. If he happened to see the girl again, so be it.

Said girl walked down the street to her apartment and unlocked the door to step inside. She threw herself onto the bed and let all the bones pop into place as she relaxed. She sighed happily and set her glasses down on the nightstand by the bed, not bothering to change into her pajamas. She pulled the covers over herself and turned off the lamp. Soon, she was fast asleep, thinking briefly about the handsome stranger that drowned himself in Bourbon.

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Sesshoumaru opened the door to the restaurant and walked inside to confirm his reservations. This particular restaurant was adjacent to the bar he had been in only last week. His work had prevented him from frequenting the place or even going the next day as he had planned. Therefore, he had reserved a quiet dinner in the highly rated Italian restaurant owned by the same man. He planned to stop at the bar for a drink after he ate, of course.

He was seated and given a menu. Before the waiter left, he ordered a glass of wine. When it was brought, he sipped it contentedly and perused the selection on the menu in front of him. As he was ordering, he heard music start to play. Looking up, there was a band now set up in a scenic corner of the restaurant and a group of exceptional musicians was playing. Finishing the order, the waiter walked away to have it filled.

He watched as a girl stepped in front of a small microphone that was set up in front of the band. She was a very attractive young woman with large, blue eyes, full lips, and wavy brown hair. When she opened her mouth, he discovered that her voice was as beautiful as her face.

She was singing a bouncy song as Italian as the restaurant itself. He listened contentedly and curiously.

"Ma comme bali bella bimba, bella bimba, bella bimba." she sang, "Ma comme bali bella bimba, bella bimba, bali ben!"

Her blue eyes swept over the crowd, and right over Sesshoumaru, too. He was surprised when they came right back to him though, and she smiled at him as she sang. He scowled. The audacity to smile like that at a stranger in a restaurant. For the benefit of the doubt, he looked behind him to see if someone was there that she knew but, of course, there was nothing but a decorated wall.

He thought he detected a hitch in the melody and looked at her again as she muffled her giggle during the song she was singing. Was she laughing at him? He raised an eyebrow at her and her eyes smiled back at him in amusement.

The song ended, and he did not applaud as she was getting more than enough praise from the rest of the restaurant. She smiled and bowed and the band made their way off the stage.

Sesshoumaru returned to musing over the coming meal and thinking about the messy girl from the bar.

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Another drink was being ordered at the bar in the next room. Sesshoumaru downed it in nothing flat. The same old bartender refilled his drinks faithfully after they'd been emptied and Sesshoumaru was getting more irritated by the minute. So irritated in fact, that his usual berth of three seats on either side had been increased to five seats. The girl still hadn't shown up. He slammed the glass onto the counter and grimaced angrily. Where was she? He had come here specifically to see her again and she wasn't here for him to see.

How dare she?

He was so busy letting his anger simmer that he didn't notice someone sit quietly in the seat beside him. He ordered another bourbon and ran his hand through his hair aggrivatedly.

"Bad day?" a voice asked from beside him. He turned his shocked expression toward the familiar voice and was surprised to find the singer from the restaurant looking at him in curious amusement.

He looked at her coldly and turned to the drink that had appeared before him.

"Okay, ignore me, it's fine." she said and he could practically hear her shrug her shoulders. He saw the bartender walk up, wiping another glass on his worn apron and smiling at the woman.

"Hey there, kid, where've you been? We've missed you on this side of the wall." he told her playfully. Sesshoumaru's ears tuned in at the 'kid' endearment that had been used for the other one too.

"I just had some loose ends to tie up, Myoga. I didn't drink the black plague for nothing last week." she answered, referring to the potent drink she had downed while holding her nose, which she now wrinkled in distaste.

"You know, that's a good name for it. You mind if I use it?" the bartender asked. She laughed that same soft laugh and answered, "I don't think many people would order the 'Black Plague' but go ahead."

Sesshoumaru turned his head to look at her more closely. Her hair was in fact the same color, and he found that he had seen those eyes before, only they had been behind a pair of glasses. He sniffed the air and discovered that it was the same scent, only lighter, without a cloud of depression muting it.

"What on earth drove you to drink that?" Sesshoumaru asked her, purposely trying not to sound as if he had just figured out who she was. She was not so audacious anymore for smiling at him at dinner.

"A day worse than the one you're having right now." came the reply without hesitation.

"I apologize for my hostile behavior towards you earlier." he said, worried that he had taken too much out on her, when she was indeed who he was waiting for.

"Apology accepted." she said readily. He nodded once and uncharacteristically refrained from ordering another double. The bartender who had seen the whole exchange raised an eyebrow at the man.

The girl looked at the man beside her, cluctching his empty glass in white-knuckled hands. He was the single most attractive man she had ever seen and he had seen her at her worst. He hadn't even recognized her! It must have been bad. She was glad that he recognized her now, though. But why did he look so angry? It wasn't like she could ask him, so she ordered her drink.

"Hey Myoga, can I have a Smirnoff please?" she asked politely, batting her eyelashes up at him.

"Sure thing." he said cheerily, and walked to a different area of the bar to retrieve the soda-like beverage.

The Smirnoff was her favorite drink in the bar, and she always got one when she was in as good a mood as she was now. The handsome demon beside her no longer radiated hatred and so she took that as encouragement.

"I'm Kagome." she introduced herself, holding out her hand but not expecting him to take it. She was shocked when a large, warm hand wrapped itself around hers and shook in greeting.

"I believe you already know my name." he said simply, returning his hand to the counter in front of him.

"I certainly do, Sesshoumaru." she confirmed. She liked his name and the way it just rolled off the tongue. It was nice to say it.

Silence reigned for a while. But it wasn't an overly awkward, 'I don't know what to say' silence. It was a nice, companionable silence of companions.

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The next week, the scene repeated itself. Sesshoumaru had dinner, listening to the Italian music stylings of Kagome and then went to the bar for a round of bourbon. She always happened to bump into him there and sit in her usual spot next to him. Today was no different except for one thing. On this particular day, she ordered a shot of vodka and threw it down as soon as it hit the counter. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her.

"Yeah," she said, "I had a bad day."

He turned back to his own drink, observing that it wasn't bad enough to call upon the glass of death again. He was glad for that.

"What made it bad?" he asked. They were well enough acquainted with each other by now to ask such personal questions. She stared at him with wide eyes for a moment. Did he just ask her something? Yes, yes he did.

She recovered from her shock and replied, "My ex-boyfriend is harrassing me and won't leave me alone." she said with a scowl.

"What is the manner of his harrassment?" he inquired. She was beyond shocked that he kept the conversation going but continued calmly, thinking how she loved the proper way he spoke.

"He calls me at least twice every day, and when I come home, he's always there by my apartment. He tries to follow me up to my room most times but I threaten to call the cops on him and he just stays outside the door. He yells at me when that happens and then it's hard to sleep when he does that." she sighed, "He keeps calling all my friends, trying to figure out what I'm doing and who I'm with. He's basically stalking me until I take him back."

"Will you take him back?" Sesshoumaru asked smoothly.

"Of course not." she answered.

Sesshoumaru was surprised at how relieved he felt at that statement. She was strongwilled and had a backbone, he noted with satisfactory.

"Is he the reason you ordered 'The Black Plague'?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow at her in detached amusment.

She laughed and nodded, "That was probably the worst day of my life. I'm sorry you had to see it."

"Not at all," he reassured her, "You distracted me from my own miseries long enough to put things into perspective, and for that I have to thank you."

She gave him a mock bow, "Glad to be of service." she said with a smile. She looked up to see him observing her intently.

Kagome had planned on ordering at least three rounds of vodka shots to get her blindingly drunk, but thanks to the distraction sitting on her left, she didn't have to. Plus, she was so absorbed in the demon that she completely forgot.

"So what made you so miserable, Mr. Twenty-seven shots in a row?" she asked him playfully.

"My mother died recently, and I had just returned from the funeral." he said honestly. He watched the look of amusement leave her face and be replaced with a more serious look.

"I'm sorry." she said.

"It couldn't be helped." was all he replied.

She shrugged and didn't probe further. A refreshingly opposite reaction from most gushing females. He was very disappointed when she got up and started to place some money on the counter by her empty shot glass. She hollered a goodbye to the bartender who was now on the other side of the room and then turned and told him goodbye.

Kagome almost didn't register in her mind that an arm had reached out to stop her from walking away and was still holding her own arm firmly. She looked at the hand and then to it's owner and a look of confusion spread across her face.

"Sesshoumaru, you're holding my arm." she said, stating the obvious. He released her and stood up, putting his own money on the bar before looking her in the eye.

"I will escort you home." he said simply, and turned to walk toward the door.

"Why?" squeaked Kagome as she walked toward the door he was holding open for her.

"If I understand right, there is a very confused man waiting on your doorstep." he reminded her.

"Oh yeah..." she said in realization. He let the door close once they were both outside and he offered her his arm. She took it warily and began walking down the street before he could direct her to his car. He was very much content with walking, though.

"You live close by?" he asked conversationally.

"Yes." she answered. It was harder than she thought to think coherently when the handsome guy from the bar was on your arm. As they walked in silence, Sesshoumaru couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of her small, delicate hands on his arm. Watching her from his seat in the bar, he was able to conclude that she had indeed been raised as a lady with class. She was polite to anyone older than herself while still being impertinant in some way. She never cursed and never pretended to be something she wasn't.

Kagome was counting off his personality traits as well as they walked the four blocks to her apartment building. He was definitely a gentleman, she thought from the way he offered his arm. He didn't speak down to her or belittle her, which scored him major brownie points. It was so easy to just not talk at all when she was with him. Talking was fine, but this quiet didn't make her nervous like she expected it would.

She was more than disappointed when they reached her apartment block and glared at the front door. Her ex-boyfriend wasn't even there for an excuse to walk her up to the apartment. Now he deserved a punch more than he did yesterday.

"Well, this is my stop.." she said reluctantly as they faced the building. Sesshoumaru nodded once.

"Thanks for walking me home, Sesshoumaru." she said and stood up on her tippy toes, using his arm for support, and planted a kiss on his right cheek. She walked up the steps to the front door before turning to wave goodbye and smile at him. His stoic expression made her regret the bold move as she walked into the building.

As soon as she stepped inside and out of sight, Sesshoumaru let a smile turn up the corners of his mouth.

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Opinions? Comments? Flames?

I don't drink, I swear!

Tell me what you think, and/or if I should continue.

Hope you enjoyed it :D


	2. Chapter 2

Sesshoumaru stood there in front of her apartment building until a light flickered on and he saw her silhouette in the curtained window. He took off his jacket and slung it over his arm before walking back in the opposite direction. He ran his hand through his hair, an action that was slowly becoming habit, and let out a deep breath. Truth be told, he was a little disappointed.

He had hoped to see the ex-boyfriend.

A good punch in the jaw might be enough to teach him the error of his ways, but Sesshoumaru wouldn't stop there. He had developed a strange protectiveness for this girl over the past few weeks and anyone who made her drink that black sludge needed to be punished severely.

As he approached his car, he reached in his pocket and retrieved his keys. The car beeped and he got in to start it. He took a detour past Kagome's apartment one more time to make sure she was still alright.

As he passed the building, he looked up at her window and found her looking down at the street leaning on her windowsill. She had giant earphones on her head, covering her ears completely, and was mouthing the words to some song he couldn't hear.

His gaze lingered on her for a few seconds and then he continued on to his own apartment. He parked the car and got out to walk into the building.

"How was your evening, Master Taisho?" the elderly doorman asked.

"It was very enjoyable, thank you, Totosai." he said as he nodded respectfully to the old man. He walked through the open door and into the elevator.

As he entered his apartment, he looked around the empty room, suddenly feeling lonely in a way. He shrugged it off quickly and walked into the kitchen to put his italian left-overs in the fridge. As he set it down, he looked at the left-over box next to it from last week. He picked it up and threw it into the garbage can, which is exactly what would happen a week from now, when he brought back another take-out box. A whole week until he went to that restaurant again. It seemed like a really long time to go without having a few drinks at his favorite bar.

He silently made a resolution to enjoy another italian meal sooner than the one week cycle they had going. If today was Wednesday, then he would go again on Friday. He couldn't wait to see her surprised face when he showed up at the restaurant unexpectedly early. Although, if she remained true to form, she would be the one doing the surprising. How on earth she still surprised him, he couldn't figure out, but she did it in the smallest ways.

He thought for a while about her and his regard for her. Should he distance himself from her before this regard turned into full blown attachment, or should he just ride the wave of cheerfulness that came over them when they were together? Hm. He loosened his tie and started to unbutton his shirt, walking to the bathroom as he did so. He set his discarded clothes on a chair near his bed on the way to the bathroom and stepped inside and closed the door. The toilet flushed and the door opened again, since he didn't really see the need to close it for very long since he lived alone.

He washed his hands and looked up at his face in the mirror. His eyes widened slightly. On his cheek was the faintest trace of sheer pink lipstick. He touched it with a clawed finger before wiping it away with his still wet hands. As he looked down to rinse his hand off again, a ghost of a smile appeared on his lips.  
It might be too late to avoid attachment.

He got out of his pants and set them with his other clothes on the chair before grabbing a hair tie on his nightstand. He gathered his long, silver hair into a ponytail and tied it up. Tightening it, he grabbed a pair of sweatpants and then crawled into bed. He hadn't turned on any lights so he didn't need to reach up to turn any off. He fell asleep quickly, silently thinking italian songs in his head.

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Kagome watched the cars as they drove on the road below her. Her favorite headphones were over her ears and she was listening to a new song she had to learn for Friday night. It was called Star Vicino. It was really pretty to her, and she wished Sesshoumaru would be there to hear it, but no, she had to wait a week until she saw him again. Earlier, she had seen a sleek black car come around the corner and slow down in front of her apartment before continueing on its way down the street, or maybe it was just her imagination about the slowing down.

Her imagination went wild with thoughts that it was Sesshoumaru coming to see if she was looking down from her window. A real Romeo and Juliet situation. She could've sworn she saw a pale, clawed hand at the wheel in a long sleeve, white shirt, but he had been wearing a black jacket so it couldn't have been him. Oh well, she could dream, couldn't she?

She hummed her song and set her headphones down on the table in her living room. She pinned the front of her hair up and washed her face before brushing her teeth and taking her contacts out. She didn't bother putting on her glasses while she walked around the room to turn all the lights out. She made her way through the dark back to her bedroom and crawled into bed, silently thinking italian songs in her head.

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The next Thursday dragged like a pair of lazy feet. Sesshoumaru drummed his fingers on the table he was sitting at. He was currently in the middle of the longest meeting of his life. He no longer knew if he could wait until Friday. His day today had been pretty bad and he could use a good drink with good company. Various impossible circumstances had prevented him from haunting his favorite bar, and he was anxious to get some alcohol in him, among other things.

"Sesshoumaru." a stern voice jerked him out of his misery. He looked up to acknowledge the abomination that had interrupted his thoughts.

"If it is not too much trouble, I'd like you to keep your attention on the matter at hand." the abomination said, and used his stick thingy to point to the charts and graphs that adorned the wall of the conference room. Sesshoumaru arched a graceful eyebrow at the man before resuming the drumming of his fingers. He was on the eleventh floor of his company's conference building. Yes, conference_ building_. It was one in a long line of many buildings, each with its own purpose.

Sesshoumaru was a very rich man, and the best part was that she didn't know yet. Kagome had no idea of the extent of this Bourbon drinker's wealth.

What face would she make when she found out? he wondered with a wry smile. Surprising her would most likely become his favorite pastime.

"What is so funny, Sesshoumaru?" the same abomination asked him, once again interrupting his thoughts.

"Your ridiculous lecture. Is it over yet?" he asked with nonchalant boredom. There were a few moments of tense amusement that flowed over the employees and the abomination humphed, returning to his lecture.

Then, Sesshoumaru surprised them all by suddenly standing up out of his chair, gathering his things, and leaving without a word to anyone. The abomination, who was in mid lecture, stopped to stare after him with his mouth hanging open. He soon recovered though and continued on his torrent. The company was used to their head's eccentricly cold ways and didn't want to oppose him or ridicule him. They simply admired him for his lack of care of what anyone else thought about him and his actions.

Sesshoumaru couldn't take that blithering fool's self-centered, egotistical, unimportant lecture any longer, so he simply left. The man was trying to convince him to tear down 3 acres of trees to build a series of mini-malls for the deprived country folk. Ha, like they needed a mini-mall, he mentally snorted. They needed a mini-mall just as much as he needed a promotion. The lecture before that had been an expensive hospital in place of the neighborhood park.

It was such a pointless cause that he could feel his brain dribble out his ears by the third lecture of the month. The one he had just heard was the 12th.

He was cold and unfeeling but he had some common sense, enough to know that the public and 'counrty folk' as the abomination put it, would rebel against his entire company if they wiped out a 3 acre forest that everyone cherished. He was tired of hearing pointless lectures for something he would veto in the long run.

He needed a drink like nobody's business. He got in his car and started it, taking off his jacket before driving down the road to the bar that had the best bourbon in town. He slowly drove up and parked about three blocks from the entrance like he normally did. The reason being that if any of his coworkers saw his car in front of this place, it would become a favorite haunt of theirs, and this place was his. Only his.

He walked into the bar with a figurative cloud over his head and sat down at his usual seat. It only irked him more that his drinking buddy wasn't there to share his calm aggravation with.

He waited for the bartender to come up so that he could order his usual bourbon, but was surprised when a woman came around the corner of the bar, cleaning a glass much like the old man did. She looked at him warily and then turned around to walk the other way. Sesshoumaru sighed slowly and ran a hand through his hair. These young bartenders didn't have any backbone at all.

He was more than surprised when a glass of bourbon was placed in front of him, and he looked up at the bartender girl questioningly. It must've looked like a glare to her, because she took a step back and gave a glare of her own. He raised an eyebrow in question at her.

"Compliments of the lady in red." she said, nodding toward a table behind him, before walking away and picking up various empty glasses and tips. Sesshoumaru looked down at his bourbon and took a sip. It tasted good. He knew that after a while, he'd have to thank the woman who got him a drink, but he didn't want to get tangled with anything right now.

He took another long drink and closed his eyes in appreciation and satisfaction. Finally, he turned to look over his shoulder at the place the bartender had nodded. There was a lady in red, alright. She was sitting in a booth against the wall, looking at him out of the corner of her eye with an impish grin until she saw him looking at her. That's when she turned her head to return to the menu too quickly and the smile refused to be suppressed. He nearly chuckled at the sight. He turned around and grabbed his drink and taking another sip before calling the bartender girl over again.

When she came, he ordered another bourbon, and something else. Two drinks in hand, he smoothly got up and sauntered over to the booth to sit with the lady in red.

Kagome peeked out from under her menu at the Smirnoff Ice that had been placed on the table. Then she looked up at the handsome demon who had decided to grace her with his presence, sipping on his bourbon contentedly, seated across from her.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked him, putting the menu off to the side and taking her favorite drink in her hand.

"'Compliments of the lady in red' is what the bartender told me." he said simply. He was now looking at the contraption on the seat beside her. It had looked like a baby carrier from the bar, and now it looked like a baby carrier with a baby inside. He looked at it and then asked her, "Yours?"

"No." she said, "I'm babysitting for the day."

"At a bar? Hardly a place for children, I would think." he said as he looked around at the suggestive posters and alcoholic signs and people.

"Not if you're babysitting for the bartender." she answered with a smile, leaning her elbows on the table.

He looked once again at the bartender and found her looking at their table with the same wariness she had given him earlier. Well, it was considerably more relaxed since Kagome was sitting across from him, but she was still keeping a good eye on her child.

"You two are friends?" he asked conversationally. By now, his frustrating meeting was all but forgotten and he soaked in the warmth of the unexpected good company.

"Yeah, she's my best friend who happened to marry my other best friend, and now we have this little guy." she said playfully as she looked over at the baby on her left. He was sleeping soundly and had been since he walked in.

"You like children." he said, observing her attitude toward the baby boy next to her.

"Yes." she affirmed. It seemed wierd to both of them that they were in a bar, each with a drink in hand, and a baby sleeping next to them. Kagome wondered if the alcoholic fumes would somehow mess up the baby's brain. On the outside, people were wondering why the couple was keeping their baby in the bar with them while they drank, and how parents with brown hair and silver hair could produce a black-haired baby.

There was a companionable silence again as they sipped their drinks contentedly, unaware of the curious stares from outsiders.

Pretty soon, their drinks were empty and Kagome promptly got up to get them both refills. Sesshoumaru watched her as she walked away before silently taking up the responsibility of watching the sleeping child.

Kagome walked up to the bar and called her friend over, "Hey Sango, can I have another Smirnoff Ice and a glass of Bourbon, please?" she sat herself temporarily on a barstool and leaned against the counter.

"Where's Ranmaru?" Sango asked as she walked up.

"Sesshoumaru's keeping an eye on him while I'm up here." she said and turned around to look at said demon and baby as Sango followed her gaze.

Sesshoumaru was leaning against the back of the booth with his arms crossed in front of him and was staring intensely at the sleeping baby.

"You left my baby alone with him?" Sango asked, still looking at the demon and baby with an arched eyebrow. Kagome tried to stifle the giggle that wanted to escape her. She failed.

"He's alright Sango." she said between giggles, "He's just.... misunderstood, that's all." she giggled again and looked at him with a wide grin. He was still staring that baby down.

"Are you sure?" Sango asked. She had walked away after the giggle fit and was now returning with the requested drinks.

"I'm positive." she said with another smile and grabbed the drinks to bring back to the table. It wasn't until she was fully seated and situated that Sesshoumaru took his eyes off that baby, causing Kagome to laugh yet again.

"What's so funny?" he asked coldly, a hint of amusement in his voice. She looked at him with smiling eyes from behind her Smirnoff bottle and grinned widely.

"You are." she stated. He gave her a questioning glare and she took it upon herself to explain.

"I go to get the drinks and when I turn around to check on you two, I find you trying to stare the baby carrier into submission." she shifted her position to mimick what his had been and furrowed her eyebrows, staring at him just like he had done.

"I did not look like that," he said, rebuking her accusation of humor, "and I was merely taking up your charge while you were away." he turned his nose up as if this statement ended the arguement right then and there.

"Whatever you say, Sesshou." she said, shaking her head. This was her first time trying out the nickname for him, so she listened carefully to his reaction.

"What did you call me?" he asked abruptly. Uh oh, she thought.

"Sesshou. It's a nickname." she informed him sheepishly, taking another sip of her drink, "Do you mind if I call you that?"

"Call me what you like, it doesn't matter to me." he waved it off and shrugged in his graceful way. Secretly, he enjoyed that he now had a nickname from her. It created a bond between them, a sort of intimacy that overstepped the boundaries of aquaintences. In no uncertain terms, he kinda liked it.

"Good." she said, regaining her previous cheerfullness, "So, how have you been? I haven't seen you here for a while." Eight days to be exact, but who was counting?

"My work has kept me busier than usual." he said stiffly. Who had been counting the days? He had been counting the days.

"What do you do?" Kagome asked him.

"I listen to conferences until my sanity slips away." he raised his glass to her, "That's when I come here." and he drained the last of the Bourbon in his cup.

She laughed sympathetically at him but didn't ask anymore. She never was one to get into gory details when she didn't have to, and the word 'conference' pretty much covered it for her.

"And you sing Italian songs in an Italian restaurant." he said, prompting her to correct him if he was wrong.

"Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays." she said, nodding her head in confirmation, "The rest of the time, I work at my grandfather's shrine. I get to dress up as a miko and give tours." she said. Her tone of voice was one that Sesshoumaru could not determine if it was sarcasm or genuine excitement.

"That's um, good." he said in a question as he furrowed his brow. She giggled. It was obvious that uncertainty was an alien thing to this Sesshoumaru.

"It's very good, I love history." she said with a smile.

"So do I." he agreed readily. Kagome took another sip of her drink and then looked at the demon sitting across the booth. She almost dropped her glass.

He was smiling at her.

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so here's a go at a continuation

If it sucked, let me know. I liked the vibe in the first chapter and I wanted to keep it, but they got closer in this one so i don't know how good it is.

Review with your opinions or comments or criticisms!

Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Sango wiped the counter around where Kagome had her head down on it. The baby carrier was next to her on the bar, gurgling happily at his mother as she cleaned.

"So what did you talk about?" Sango asked her. The bar was empty and most of the lights were off, since closing time had been an hour ago.

Kagome didn't look up, much like her first encounter with the black plague, and answered, "Not much, really."

Sango tossed the rag she was using onto her shoulder and leaned on the counter, putting a hand on her hip, "Not much?' Kagome, you talked for five hours! I think you said a little more than 'not much'."

"Well..." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders, still facedown on the counter. The baby squealed playfully, trying to get his mothers attention. Sango tickled his blanketed tummy and made sure he was strapped in tight to his carrier.

She turned away and hung up her apron on the hook before clocking out. Then, the tired bartender went to lean against the counter in front of her friend.

"He was a little strange, if you ask me." Sango said, remembering his aloof and cold manner. She also remembered that he had seemed angry when he first walked in, and five minutes after talking with Kagome, his whole demeanor changed. He was definitely an attentive babysitter.

Kagome gave a half-hearted laugh from the table, "He is strange."

"So what's happening with you two?" she asked concernedly for her friend. Kagome sighed and looked up with a glazed expression. Sango could tell she was deep in thought, thinking about her afternoon. She looked down and tugged on her bright red shirt nervously.

"I honestly don't know," Kagome said, "And I don't want to talk about it. I'm afraid if I do, this feeling will go away."

Sango looked her in the eyes with an understanding smile, "You don't have to, Kags, it's okay." Kagome smiled her thanks and waited for her to finish turning out all the lights so they could leave. She still couldn't walk home by herself in fear that her boyfriend, her _ex_-boyfriend, would be there waiting for her. She would much prefer Sesshoumaru at her side to scare him away, but her best friend was appreciated just as much. They pulled on their coats, since it was early December, and made sure the baby was bundled up tightly.

Kagome held the carrier while Sango locked the door, entertaining the baby who had been asleep for the whole afternoon. As they walked the few blocks to her apartment building, Kagome waited for the questioning to begin.

"So, what's his name anyway?" And there it was. Kagome smiled, she didn't mind answering these questions, "Sesshoumaru." she told her.

"And what does he do?" she continued.

Kagome thought about it, "I don't know." she said, "I told you I don't know very much about him." He had mentioned conferences but that didn't really tell her much about his job. Librarians had conferences. Albeit, he would be the hottest librarian she knew, the job didn't suit him.

"What kind of car does he drive?" Sango pressed, "You can tell alot about the job a man has by the car he drives."

Kagome thought again about this question. She didn't really know for sure what his car looked like, but she had an idea. Sort of. She tried to find words to describe it or the name of the vehicle, and just as she failed, the same kind of car caught her attention.

She pointed to the car across the street, "It's like that one, I think." she said. They were in front of her apartment builiding now, with no sign of the ex, and could stop to appraise the sleek, black automobile.

"It's nice.." Sango said with appraising eyes.

"I'm not even sure if that's his car," Kagome quickly added, "I just thought I saw him driving something like that, one time."

"Well, if he does have a car like that, he has a pretty good job." Sango said, "that's an expensive car."

"Yeah." Kagome kissed the baby and then Sango goodnight, and walked up the steps to her apartment. She turned at the door, "Your coming to the restaurant next week, right?"

Sango gave a confused look. Kagome sighed and smiled at her, "I have a new song, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I'll be there." she told her, smiling back.

One last wave at Sango, who was getting in the car she had parked there, and she entered in through the front door. A few minutes later, she was in her apartment, turning on her lights that could be seen from the road. That's when the sleek, black automobile pulled off of the curb and drove away.

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Again, the ex-boyfriend hadn't been there. Sesshoumaru was so incensed that he was almost tempted to go to the park and transform, just to run all his anger out. After he had left Kagome at the bar's closing time, he had driven up to her apartment, hoping fiercely that the harrasser would be there so that he could give him a good beating.

He wanted to make sure she got home safely.

It was over an hour later that she came down the sidewalk, with the bartender woman and her child. Sesshoumaru watched it all through his tinted windows, a little miffed that she was later than he anticipated. The baby was awake now, and very happy to be carried by the two women. They seemed to be talking about something. Kagome looked sort of tired but smiled prettily when she spoke.

Sesshoumaru found that he very much enjoyed looking at her. His lips twitched at the corners when she saw him mouth his name.

The pride he felt was ridiculous. He knew he shouldn't be there, making sure of the safety of the woman he had met all of twice. Of course, he knew the reason for it and unconsciously growled in frustration as he thought it. This was not supposed to happen to him.

His spine stiffened instantly as she pointed right to his car. Had he been discovered? As they kept talking, he realized they were only looking at his vehicle. His back stayed straight though, already uneasy that they were looking right at him without knowing it. And she couldn't be allowed to know that he had come here to make sure she got home alright. That would send her a message he would rather not send this early in the game.

The ladies said their farewells, and Sesshoumaru made himself stay put until he saw the lights go on in her apartment. He drove away calmly and assessed his situation, in much the same way he had in his bathroom.

One thing was certain. It was definitely too late to avoid attachment.

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Writers block is a biootch. Im so scared to continue this thing because I think the first two chapters turned out great, and im scared ill ruin it.

I'm atryin mah best!

Anyway, I'm kinda blue about the weather where I live. it's Christmas Eve and I can wear shorts and tank tops. *Sigh* BUT ITS CHRISTMAS!!!!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Merry Christmas, Everyone :D


	4. Chapter 4

Sesshoumaru opened the door of the bar and walked inside. He had had another round of meaningless conferences that day and a booming headache. He was recovering though, having the bourbon to look forward to once he sat down. He unconsciously looked around the bar for a familiar figure and didn't seem to find it.

Sighing, he sat down rather close to a wall, in a seat at the bar itself. It was Myoga who came to take his order this time.

"The same?" he asked the business man, wiping his hands before grabbing a glass from the wall on his side.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru confirmed.

"Kagome's working at the shrine today." the bartender added over his shoulder as he turned from him to fill the glass with bourbon. He didn't see how Sesshoumaru looked up at the mention of her name. He quietly slipped back into indifference as Myoga handed him the drink.

"Really." he said noncommitally, taking a sip of the warm liquid.

"Yes." the old man replied, "She loves her job, too." he leaned his elbows on the counter, the trademark cleaning rag slung over his shoulder.

"Yes." Sesshoumaru nodded, he knew she did. He was disappointed that she wasn't there drinking with him, but at the same time, he was content with her doing something that made her happy. It gave him an odd, fuzzy feeling to know that out there, somewhere, she was smiling.

"She's about as smart as they come, that girl." Myoga continued. Sesshoumaru vaguely wondered why he was being told all of this, but didn't interrupt as the subject interested him.

"Do you know she speaks three languages?" he asked, as if this would impress anybody.

"Really." Sesshoumaru said again, though his tone held more interest. It certainly impressed him.

"Yes, she speaks Russian, German and Japanese as well as English." he said, sounding as if he was boasting of a daughter instead of a coworker. Sesshoumaru was even more impressed at the languages she knew. Those that she could speak were hard to pick up and even harder to understand fluently.

"Hm." he said, pondering. So she was intelligent as well as being a lady. Hmmm, indeed.

"And you couldn't find a sweeter person." Myoga seemed to finish, his voice taking on a tone of affection. Sesshoumaru noted with satisfaction that the people around this young woman obviously cared for her. He was slow in his choosing, and was glad he had chosen wisely.

"What lies are you telling him, Myoga?" a feminine voice came from the corner of the bar. The two men turned their heads as Kagome walked to the far side of the bar where they were sitting. She took no time in seating herself right next to the intimidating demon who was now looking at her. It seemed the right thing to do, he thought, that she should sit next to him.

"Not lies." the bartender grinning playfully, faking hurt at her accusation. He would never let on that she had been the subject of their conversation.

"Really now." she said with a mischevious grin of her own, before turning to her right and greeting Sesshoumaru, "Hey Sesshou." she smiled.

"Hello." he returned, giving her a nod. He turned back to his drink to keep from giving her too much attention. The bartender was suspicious as it was. And then he almost chuckled, it was much too late to avoid giving her 'too much attention'.

"So what were you two talking about, really?" she asked, leaning her elbows on the bar interestedly, "It looked like it was something pretty interesting."

Myoga turned around to the wall and automatically got her a Smirnoff Ice, "What makes you say that?" he asked. She tucked her legs under her on the chair.

"Well, you," she turned to Sesshoumaru, "looked absolutely enthralled." She took her drink and thanked the bartender.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Did I." he said skeptically. He hadn't payed attention to the fact that he was completely engrossed in hearing about her.

"Yes, you did." she said smilingly. She thought she saw a ghost of a grin appear on his face, but it disappeared before she could accuse him of it. As Myoga smiled at them and walked away, a comfortable atmosphere came down on them.

The chatter of the bar didn't quite reach the bubble against the wall that was Sesshoumaru and Kagome. Both were simply content to be in each others' company again. She had missed him alot since the last time she saw him, which honestly, had only been three days ago.

But miss him, she did. She watched him as he drank his bourbon, looking very deep in thought, and found she liked the little quirks and idiosyncrisies he had. She could barely put them into words. It was his coldness to everyone but her, his indifference to everyone but her, his dislike, his aloofness, his seeming cruelty to everyone but her.

He made her feel so special. He caught her staring and she saw his eyes soften from the hard look of thought. Her stomach suddenly grumbled, telling her that she was suddenly ravenous. She blushed furiously. Why did it have to make noises in front of _him?_

As he watched her ears turn beat red, he had to hide his amused smirk behind his glass.

He was turned toward her as he brought his bourbon glass to his mouth, "How do you feel about Italian?" he asked.

She gave him a broad smile, momentarily dazing him as they finished their drinks, before travelling nextdoor..

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The restaurant was quite crowded when they arrived. Kagome guessed it was because of the dinner rush. After all, this was a high-end place to eat. She looked down at her skirt and blouse, and was thankful that she had dressed nice in the hopes of seeing Sesshoumaru.

She did feel that easiness, and yet there were the unwanted nerves trying to throw her off. She handed her heavy winter coat to the greeting hostess before walking up to join the demon at the host's stand. The female greeter had been distracted while taking Kagome's jacket, and hadn't been able to tear her gaze away from the most attractive male she had ever seen.

The host was very Italian and had a cheerful accent, but was no doubt intimidated by this demon tycoon now requesting a table. Kagome smiled at the familiar host as she walked up and his face was wiped clean of some of the tension when he saw her.

"Buona sera, Miss Kagome!" he greeted her cheerfully. She smiled brightly at him, "Buona sera, Cosmo, come sta?" she asked, walking to stand beside the host's stand next to Sesshoumaru.

"Grazie, va bene cosi. Come va?" he returned, taking her hand and placing an audacious kiss on it. He was indeed italian, the demon thought, watching his romantic actions. Jealousy was something he would have to get used to.

"Ci sentiamo bene, grazie." she told him, still smiling. He released her hand and grabbed two menus from his stand. Sesshoumaru silently followed Kagome as she followed 'Cosmo' through the chattering restaurant. They finally came to a table directly under a speaker. Kagome smiled as she heard the soft Italian music that had been drowned out at the entrance. Sesshoumaru watched her as they found their seats.

They sat down across from each other and Kagome smiled at him as Cosmo placed their menus in front of them. One last italian smile at Kagome before he turned to leave, looking at her one last time, "Ciao, bella." he said affectionately.

"Ciao, bella." Kagome returned with a friendly smile. She then looked at Sesshoumaru, and that eyebrow that was raised at her, _again._

"That was Cosmo." she shrugged with a sheepish smile. They must have looked pretty friendly toward each other. When he didn't say anything, she elaborated, "He's just my boss for when I sing here on Tuesday's and Thursday's!" she said exasperatedly, unable to shake the feelings of accusation coming from his side of the table.

"Hn." he said. He picked up his menu and began to look through it. She did the same and propped it up in front of her so she could put her hands on the table. When Sesshoumaru looked over the top of his menu, he had to fight the his mouth from twitching into a dark smirk. Her menu was standing up by itself and only the top of her head was peeking out as she hummed to herself and read from the right side to the left.

A bus-boy came by and placed a basket of breadsticks on the table. Kagome peeked out over her menu and snatched a breadstick, ducking under her menu again and resuming her humming as she munched.

Having decided what she wanted, which was also one of the most inexpensive things, she looked over at Sesshoumaru to find him staring at her. He had a humorous look in his eyes as he set his menu down and folded his arms in front of him.

"What are you getting?" she asked him. He answered her composedly, "I will be having the Polenta con gli osei." Now, all he could see over her menu was her eyes. He knew she wouldn't ask what the dish was, being able to speak the language.

She raised an eyebrow, expecting as much from him. It was an expensive and very large dish, something like fish cooked with wild birds. He must have a massive appetite, he was a demon after all.

"And you?" he looked at her. She looked back to the menu for a second and was about to answer before she was interrupted by the waiter.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked in a thick accent. She turned from the demon to the server and said, "Yes, I'll have the children's manicotti, please."

"Si, Kagome." he said, writing it down with a smile. Sesshoumaru raised that confounded eyebrow at her yet again as she folded her menu and handed it to the waiter. She gave him a look.

"And you, sir?" the waiter continued, taking the menu from the woman and turning to the demon. Sesshoumaru folded his menu and handed it to him, "I'll have the Polenta con gli osei." he said. The waiter made an impressed face as he jotted it down before Sesshoumaru continued, "And also, two glasses of your finest wine." His eyes had a wicked glint as he looked at Kagome.

"Si." he said before turning and leaving.

Sesshoumaru took this oppurtunity to turn on her, "The children's manicotti?" he accused. He leaned his elbows on the table, tilting towards her, waiting for her answer.

"Have you seen the size of the portions, here?" she asked, giving him a look, "They're huge!"

"Really." he looked at her skeptically and amusedly. She was starting to motion with her hands to make sure he understood just how huge the amount of food they served was. The waiter came with a bottle of wine and presented it to Sesshoumaru. He glanced at it, nodded, and turned back to Kagome as the italian went to retrieve two wineglasses.

"Yes." she confirmed, "I once ordered a plate of spaghetti, and they came back with this mountain of noodles that was bigger than me!" she let out a wooshed breath in remembered exhaustion, "No matter how much I ate, it never got smaller."

"It must have multiplied as you ate it." he said in mock seriousness. She heard his mocking tone and fixed him with a smiling look, "That's exactly what it did. I think I ended up with a bigger plate of noodles than I started with."

The waiter returned with two glasses in one hand and the bottle of wine in the other. He filled each glass carefully before placing one in front of each person.

Kagome promptly continued, "It was just like this time I was in China, and I had a giant bowl of corn to eat." she looked at him seriously, "They gave me chopsticks."

He chuckled darkly, "That must have been difficult for you."

She closed her eyes and nodded solemnly, "It was a dark time in my life."

Sesshoumaru chuckled again and reached for his wine. He swirled his glass a bit before taking a long sip. It was very exceptional, he would have to find the name so that he could get a bottle for himself. He looked across the table at Kagome, who was smiling at him.

She asked, "Is it good?"

"Very good," he replied, "try it."

She reached for her glass and brought it to her nose, appreciating the smell and seeing if she could place a name. No name came to mind and she guessed that this wine was a really good year. A sip confirmed that it was indeed excellent, and his taste flawless.

"Wow." she said, placing her glass back on the table and returning her hand to her lap, "It's good."

"What were you doing in China?" he suddenly asked, curiosity apparent in his voice. It never ceased to amaze her how chatty this demon was sometimes. Granted, his chatty was the normal antisocial, she knew it's significance.

She smiled, "I was studying the language there. Plus, I just like to travel."

"Myoga told me of your impressive resume." he said, his eyes holding respect as he looked at her.

"Oh he did, did he?" she giggled. He guessed that the relationship between them _was_ that of a father and daughter.

"But he seems to have missed a language." he continued. Kagome furrowed her brow at him and he looked at her, "He didn't mention Italian."

Kagome smiled again, "I only know a little of that." she confessed, "Cosmo speaks it very slowly for me, so it won't all go over my head."

"History isn't your only love." he said in a convinced voice. This woman now had more of his admiration and respect than any other being on the planet. She had definitely gone above and beyond her calling as a human.

"No," she laughed, "Languages will always be my first love." she reached for her glass and took another sip of wine. She looked over her glass and blushed. He was smiling at her again. She couldn't stop herself from melting under his suddenly warm gaze.

It was a good thing the waiter showed up with their food then, or she would've gaped at him like an idiot for a good five minutes.

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Kagome leaned forward against the table and smiled at the demon across from her. Their empty plates were now at the edge of the table, waiting to be picked up by passing busboys. They had no leftovers, surprisingly, so there were no takeout boxes to worry about.

The restaurant was almost empty and whole sections where being shut down as employees were being cut. The kitchen had slowed down and a few of the staff were chatting amiably in a nearby booth. Only a few straggling couples remained, scattered here and there

, Sesshoumaru and Kagome included.

Sesshoumaru was leaning against the back of his chair and looking at her humorously. He saw the mischeif in her eyes and knew that she was going to do something. As soon as she called Cosmo over, his suspicions were confirmed. She flagged him down with some difficulty, too. He walked up eventually, and smiled down at his friend.

"What can I get you, Miss Kagome." he asked in that thick, italian accent. Sesshoumaru knew that he was speaking in English only for his benefit.

Kagome smiled back up at him, "Possiamo avere baba' et limoncello, per favore?"

"Si, Kagome." he said cheerfully, jotting it down and turning on his heel to deliver the order to the kitchen. "Grazie!" Kagome called to his retreating back.

As he entered into the kitchen, Sesshoumaru's hearing picked up a repeat of the order and other shouted things in Italian. Detaching himself from the clanging of pots and pans, he focused his attention once more on the woman in front of him.

"What was that?" he asked. He had to admit, he liked it when she spoke in another language.

"Dessert." she said simply, smiling impishly at him.

"And whad did you order for us?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Kagome could've sworn he smiled for a minute.

"It's a surprise!" she exclaimed.

He sighed and rolled his eyes at her. Pretty soon, their dessert was brought and Sesshoumaru was left looking at a glass of bright, opaque, and yellow liquid now sitting in front of him. Kagome had already grabbed a fork and was beginning to eat the strange cake in the center of the table that was soaked in some sweet smelling sauce.

He tentatively took a sniff of the glass now in his hand and looked at the one by her. She looked at his confused and hesitant expression and laughed out loud.

"Don't be scared." she laughed.

He simply looked at her skeptically and then returned to glaring at the strange yellow slime in his wine glass. Kagome took her fork and dug it into the cake, pulling a bite out of it and swirling it around in the liquid before holding it out to him. He sniffed it lightly and silently declined it, much to her amusement. She simply smiled and put the fork in her own mouth, savoring the sweet taste.

She used her fork to point to the cake, "This," she said with a mouthful of food, "is baba'."

He looked at it and then at her and she continued, "And that," she pointed her fork to the yellow slime, "is limoncello."

"And what are 'baba'' and 'limoncello'?" he asked curiously. His tongue curled over the Italian accent flawlessly.

"Try them, and I'll tell you." she answered, authority in her voice.

"You do know that I can simply call Cosmo over to tell me what they are, don't you?" he said with a bored expression. But his bored countenance soon became an amused one as she glared at him.

"You're no fun." she said, taking another bite of 'baba'.

He smirked at her antics and grabbed a fork, reaching for the plate of cake. His eyes widened in surprise when her fork blocked his own. She looked at him with a wicked glint in her eyes, "Uh-uh, you didn't want any, remember?" she told him with a smirk.

He frowned in confusion before she giggled, "Just kidding, try it." she moved her fork away and he speared a peice of the small cake, copying her movements and swirling it around in the liquid, before putting it in his mouth.

It was very good, and very sweet.

"What exactly is 'baba'?" he asked her, swallowing the cake. She took another bite for herself and answered, "It's an old-style, italian desert that Cosmo makes for me. It isn't on the menu because not that many people would order it." she stated, "It's a small batter cake soaked in liquor. It's good, isn't it?" she looked at him, waiting for his approval of the dish.

"Indeed." he said, feeling daring and taking another bit, "Very good."

She smiled, glad she had chosen well. It was then that he returned his gaze to the forgotten yellow in the wineglass. He grabbed it and brought it next to the cake, grabbing Kagome's attention.

"And what exactly is 'limoncello'?" he asked.

"Lemon wine." she said, smiling. She reached for her own glass and took a sip, "It goes perfectly with desert."

He looked at the unappealing liquid and finally gave in. If she liked it, it couldn't be that bad, right? Well, he was about to find out, anyway. He took the small glass in his large hand and brought it to his mouth, taking a large enough sip to grasp the taste. The light sweetness surprised him.

"It's... good." he said. He took another sip and thoroughly enjoyed it.

"I'm glad you like it." she said sincerely, smiling at him. He smiled back at her and almost laughed when her fork completely missed its target on the way to her mouth. She set it down and reached for her napkin while a light blush spread across her cheeks.

They finished their baba and lemon wine quickly.

Kagome then flagged Cosmo down, who came, smiling, with their bill.

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As they shrugged into their heavy winter coats and stepped outside, Sesshoumaru offered her his arm. She took it, admiring the fact that under his cold personality, chivalry was alive and well.

He looked down at her and Kagome smiled brightly up at him. Lord knew she didn't know what she was doing to him. Her dainty hand on his arm sent shivers up his spine. He could also feel how cold they were through his work jacket. He put his other hand over hers as they walked, giving her some warmth.

"You should wear gloves when you go out." he said as they walked.

Kagome was simply enjoying the feeling of his hand on hers, and trying not to freak out. It was very warm. "My hands are always cold," she said, "whether I wear gloves or not."

"Are you still being harassed?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject. Kagome was taken aback at the sudden turn of conversation and blinked in surprise, "Not anymore." she stated proudly, "I haven't heard from him in a month."

"Good." he said tightly. His voice sounded just as dangerous as his eyes looked.

She looked at him warily and wondered why he had reacted that way.

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Did you like it?

This chapter turned out spectacularly.. ordinary, i guess... But I like the mood nonetheless.

They're friends at the moment so they weren't about to have depressing, dark, or lifechanging conversations about they're hidden pasts. They just talked about ordinary things. I tried to make the conversation flow naturally.

Baba and limoncello are here courtesy of wikepedia, since I wanted to be thorough. So was the dish that Sesshoumaru ordered. Both desserts were doused with alcohol, so I thought them fitting :D.

Also, let it be known that I have the privelage of requesting a one-shot from the talented Notes-and-Photographs. Im uber excited! Like I told her, I feel like I've won the lottery :).


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome looked up at her apartment window, once again regretting that she lived so close to work. She looked up at Sesshoumaru and found that he was looking at the window too. She was more than glad that he hadn't realized his hand was still covering her own on his arm.

The demon looked down at her and she smiled up at him. Neither of them had noticed that they had stopped walking for a couple of minutes now. He looked down again and realized where his hand was, gently letting it go. She was disappointed, but happy to have had that contact with him at all. Unable to avoid the inevitable any longer, she started the goodbyes.

"Well, thanks for dinner, Sesshou, I'mma go upstairs now." she reached up and laid a kiss on his cheek, "Good night."

Sesshoumaru nodded and she almost blushed. She didn't know what had gotten into her, but that kiss had been a little longer than a peck, and a great deal more sensual. His blank face as she started up the steps made her regret it just as much as the first one. Did he just have issues with people touching him?

If he did, then she had definitely crossed the line.

She reached the front door with a melancholy feeling as he still didn't return her goodbye. That was it, she had offended him. Their relationship would stop and he would keep his distance from now on. A sigh escaped her lips as her hand found the doorknob.

"Good night, Kagome." his deep voice rumbled through her ears, and she knew she was forgiven. Turning around to smile at him, he simply nodded in response before he started walking away. Her breath puffed out in front of her as she watched him go. It was too cold to just stand there, so before long she had opened the door and was on her way up the stairs to her apartment.

Alone as he was, the demon could not get his thoughts to stay where they should as he stopped walking and turned around to watch her light come on, and her silhouette grace the window frame.

Sesshoumaru was struggling. His blood was burning, right down to his toes. He could still feel her lips where she had kissed him only moments before. He almost didn't find his voice in time to say goodbye before she walked into the building. What was happening to him?

He turned on his heel and kept walking, quicker now, to try and calm his heated nerves.

Oh, how his father would laugh if he knew. And yet, Sesshoumaru didn't feel inferior in any way, nor did he feel that he had stooped to a lower level than he was accustomed to.

As he walked down the street, watching his short breaths and feeling like it was 70 degrees instead of 20, he realized two things.

He was walking in the wrong direction, and it was time for a cold shower.

He stopped abruptly and took a deep breath. He held it for a while and then let it out in a frustrated sigh, very uncharacteristic of him. He turned around rather quickly before picking up his pace and walking past Kagome's apartment again. He forced himself to look ahead of him and not up at her window, lest she be there, headphones on, looking down at him. It wouldn't take long for her to guess his predicament.

He didn't know that at that moment, Kagome was in the shower happily singing to herself, and nowhere near the window. And not knowing this, he power-walked straight past the apartment building with his hands in his pockets and a glare set on his face. That was how the whole three blocks were travelled.

His sleek, black automobile was waiting for him on the curb like an obediant horse. There were no more cars around it since it was late in the evening now. The streetlights were on and the stores were closed, save for a few all-nighters. He got in his car and shut the door behind him, starting the engine with a vroom.

He drove calmly down the road until he got to Kagome's apartment, where he unconsciously pressed down a little harder on the accelerator.

Totosai, the elderly doorman, greeted Sesshoumaru as he walked through the opened door of his penthouse building. The two had a strictly greet-and-go relationship and tonight was no exception, even if the 'going' was a bit more rushed than normal for the businessman walking through the door.

"How was your evening, Master Taisho?" Totosai asked routinely, bowing as the demon walked past him.

"Fine, Totosai, thank you." he answered, barely nodding to the elderly man before walking straight to the elevator. The doors closed on a seemingly indifferent face, but the old man could definitely make out traces of something he hadn't seen there before. A small glimmer of emotion, perhaps?

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A week later, Kagome was sitting at the bar by herself with an angry cloud over her head. An empty glass rested in her hand and she hunched over the counter, insulting good posture everywhere. She was in her favorite, oversized sweater again and she hadn't bothered to brush her hair after her shower. Pushing her glasses further up her nose, she looked exactly as she had the first day she met Sesshoumaru.

Thankfully, he wasn't there at the moment. As she looked to her left, and then to her right at the berth of three seats the other customers gave her, she somehow understood what Sesshoumaru had gone through. She was also mentally reprimanding herself for sitting by him at all on that first night. At the current moment, if anybody sat next to her, she'd fry them.

That must have been how the demon was feeling that first day she saw him. She knew now that she was lucky to be alive.

It was then that some unlucky person decided to tempt fate and situate themselves on the neighboring stool.

Whoever it was didn't say anything, which probably saved their life. It had probably saved hers before, too. She was just about to turn and ask them very forcefully to scoot over when she heard a familiar, deep voice order a glass of bourbon.

She adjusted her glasses and turned fully to look at him. He had his hair back in a low ponytail and he was in his trademark business suit. Funny, she thought, the only thing that indicated he ever changed his clothes was his tie, that would change every time she saw him. Today it was red.

Myoga brought a glass of bourbon for the demon, who took it silently, before turning to his former patient, "Hey kid, you feeling better?" he asked concernedly.

"A little."she sighed, twirling the emtpy, tall glass in her hands and staring through it into space.

Sesshoumaru recognized the scent from her empty drink as the Black Plague. She must have had a horrific day to resort to that, he thought as he took a long sip of his warm bourbon.

Myoga looked at the girl for another second before walking away to do his job elsewhere. She turned to watch him as he wiped the counter where a couple had just left after spilling a drink.

The demon next to her still didn't say anything, which Kagome was thankful for. When she was ready to talk, she would.

Said demon was mulling over possible reasons for his friends melancholy. There was the restaurant, which was highly unlikely. The bar itself was on the list, though he doubted she would stay if it was what had made her day so bad. The possibilities were endless, and yet, very few. From his meetings with her, he could deduce that she was not the type to get angrily easily, so what was it that had set her off?

The memory of the ex-boyfriend slowly entered his mind. He was, of course, the reason she drank tar in the first place.

"I like your tie." Kagome said sheepishly, almost shy of the fact that she looked terrible and felt even worse.

"Thank you." was all he replied. He looked down, forgetting which one he had chosen that morning. Ah, he thought, it was the red one today.

"Has your harrasser returned?" he heard himself ask innocently, interestedly. The reason he didn't sound angry was because he was resigned to track the man down and kill him if he was the reason for her distress. Also, it was the only possible explanation he could think of.

"No." the girl said. She didn't elaborate so he merely nodded.

At that moment, Myoga returned and placed a glass of vodka in front of the miserable person. Kagome pushed her empty glass forward and gave him a weak smile as he took it. He didn't seem to think it was very encouraging, even though he smiled back at her. Sesshoumaru could tell he was worried about the girl.

"I just had the worst day." she sighed, dropping her forhead to meet the counter. Now, as he looked at her, he almost felt like he was having a flashback of their first meeting, with her in the seat he had been sitting in and him on the other side.

Not quite role reversal, but it was a different perspective of it. It was a new memory to add to the one that was still vivid in his mind.

"Would you mind if I just vented?" the mass of brown hair and sweater asked him. She couldn't see him nod, so he responded, "Not at all." The old bartender came back, curious himself, and cleaned a stack of glasses he had set on the counter. He no longer raised eyebrows at Sesshoumaru's subtle partiality to Kagome, though he still wasn't used to hearing the demon talk.

Kagome heaved a sigh, preparing for what Sesshoumaru dreaded most: a long-winded, sob story. At least it would give him an explanation of her bad day.

"My grandpa died a few days ago, and this morning was his funeral." she began. Both sets of eyebrows went up slightly at this declaration. It almost sounded like she was confessing some dark sin and the sadness in her voice was easily heard.

"I'm sorry." both men said at once and they looked at each other.

The girl gave a weak laugh, still facedown on the counter, "S'okay." she said. Her voice was resigned, "I couldn't stop crying." she said, "I hate crying. I never cry."

"She really doesn't." Myoga said dryly, grabbing another wet glass from the pile. The old man himself had never seen her even tear up. Sesshoumaru was surprised to find that she had this in common with him. Again, she was unlike most women, who adore sobbing loudly at every possible opportunity. Another mark of respect for the being on the counter.

"And while I'm crying, everybody looked at me. I could practically feel their pity. I hate that, too." the voice sounded slightly aggravated, "And then I go home to shower and spiral into depression, where I fall down the stairs on my way up. My head still hurts." she brought her hands up to massage the base of her head.

"I smashed my own fingers in the bathroom door when I slammed it." she held up her hand above her head. Her pointer finger, they could now see had a bandaid on it while the rest were simply swollen.

"And then I forgot to put the heater on after getting out of the shower, so I was wet and cold. I haven't been able to get warm since." a sudden shiver seemed to possess her and she wrapped her hands around her shoulders. Needless to say, she was surprised when something warm was draped across her back.

Not lifting her head up, her hands found the business jacket around her and she gratefully pulled her arms through the sleeves. Her hands were completely covered and she had to push them back so that her fingers could adjust her glasses again.

"Thanks." she said. "Hn." was the reply. Sesshoumaru rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to his elbows and resumed sipping his bourbon.

Myoga had come around the counter, glasses forgotten for the moment, and wrapped her in a comforting hug. She hugged him back, fighting the sting of thankful tears. She felt so lucky to have friends like she did. She was sore and sad, and they were here to give up jackets and hugs.

"I'd say you had a bad day." the old man said, resting his chin on her unkempt head and rubbing her shoulders.

"Plus I'm in a bad mood." she grumbled into his chest. Myoga laughed, seeing the danger had passed and she was recovering. He could feel her smile at his laugh.

"It hurts us to see you sad, Kagome." he said, using her actual name in place of the endearments, "Look, Mr. Taisho is fighting to keep his self-control." he nudged her head and she peeked out from his arms to look at the demon.

Sesshoumaru, who was in mid-sip, glanced at them out of the corner of his eye and raised a delicate eyebrow.

Kagome burst out laughing and tried to hide it by turning back into Myoga's apron, but it was too late. Her shoulders shook with laughter until Myoga gave them a final squeeze and returned to his job of cleaning wet glasses behind the bar, smiling.

Kagome pushed her glasses up with a final giggle before looking at Sesshoumaru and snorting into laughter all over again.

The businessman fought the urge to roll his eyes and glared at his drink instead. He would not let her see his relief, not yet anyway.

After glaring the bourbon into submission, he glanced at his watch. It was about half an hour past the time he had planned to leave.

He turned to see Kagome calmly and contently drinking her vodka, enjoying every sip. He felt at ease at times like this when neither of them felt any need to start a conversation. He didn't want to go, but he had a meeting to attend, so he tilted his head back and downed the last of the warm liquid, setting the glass back on the counter for the bartender to retrieve.

Kagome watched as he rose from his stool and placed money on the table by his empty glass.

He nodded in her direction before he left, "I'm glad you are feeling better." is all he said.

She gave a small smile, "Yeah, thanks." He walked out the door then, and she watched him leave, wishing he would stay.

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Kagome stared at the business jacket that hung on the back of her bedroom door. She was lying on her stomach in the bed, her feet stirring the air as she rested her chin on her hands.

He had left in such a hurry that he'd forgotten to reclaim his jacket. He'd looked like he was going somewhere, too.

Not wanting it to be dirty when she returned it, she had taken it off as soon as she had gotten home. That's not to say she didn't wear it for the remainder of her stay at the bar as well as the entire walk back to her apartment. She enjoyed wearing something that was his, the feeling of having been given something from him. She felt a distinction for herself. Hanging up where it was gave the impression that someone was living with her. It was a nice feeling.

Now staring at it, neatly on its hanger, she was fighting the urge to wear it, tooth and nail. He would be able to smell her on it as it was, and she didn't know if he could tell how long she wore it by scent alone. Heck, she didn't even know if she smelled good at all!

She got off the bed and walked contemplatively over to the hanging jacket. Pulling on its sleeve, she couldn't fight any longer.

Throwing caution to the wind, she tugged it off the hanger and shrugged into the too-big business jacket. Burrowing in its collar, she smiled, inhaled deeply, and began to memorize the scent that was masculine, familiar, and comforting.

She went into the living room and sat in her chair, committing the wonderful smell to memory in any way she could.

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Contrary to what you may think, this was not a 'filler chapter'. Although I do think that fillers are necessary to develop characters in some cases.

Well, tell me what you think! I hope you liked it :).


	6. Chapter 6

Kagome stared up at the large building with an open mouth and raised eyebrows. It was huge. The sign over the door had script, gilded letters, reading _Yamamoto Inc._

She hadn't started out the day with this knot in her stomach, no. Her day had started with a purpose.

Being her day off and with nothing to do, she was on a mission to return the forgotten article of clothing now in her possession. Of course she could always return it to him the next time she saw him. But as usual, she couldn't wait, not only to return the jacket out of boredom, but to see him again sooner than expected.

As she grabbed it and walked out the door, she realized that she didn't have the faintest idea where he lived. She wouldn't find out in her apartment, though, so she set off for the bar. Sango was working that day, so she ordered a Smirnoff while the bartender informed her of a very helpful restaurant procedure. As it turns out, to make a reservation, a person must leave some kind of contact information with the host.

She chatted amiably with her friend while she finished her drink before getting up, paying, and walking out the door to travel to the neighboring restaurant. Cosmo wasn't there, but a different hostess was. She was kind enough to produce a business card, which was more than Kagome could've hoped for from the untracable demon.

Following the address was a longer walk than she expected, but she was glad she had worn jeans and comfortable shoes. It made the walk much easier and much more enjoyable. Though it was still very cold outside and she had to wear a giant overcoat to keep warm.

She felt like a spy on a mission and couldn't stop herself from humming the pink panther theme.

Now, with Sesshoumaru's business jacket folded over her arm and a look of determination on her face, she was ready. Though, she did regret not dressing nicer as she watched classy people go in and out of the broad, glass doors. She was wearing her nicest jeans and a complimentary blouse, yet she felt like she was in a potatoe sack compared to the suits and dresses of this building.

Taking a deep breath that lifted her shoulders, she got over her initial awe at the size of the building and marched forth, game face on.

The glass door swung behind her as she entered the enormous foyer. She couldn't stop her mouth hanging open as she looked from the waterfall to the koi pond on opposite ends of the room.

There was a large desk at the far end of the room, with several secretaries working diligently on papers, answering phones, and typing on computers. Still looking around her as she walked, Kagome quickly reached the front desk and spoke with a secretary on the far end of the desk.

"Um.." she didn't know how to begin, "I'm here to see Sesshoumaru Taisho."

That statement seemed as good as any. If he was indeed an employee here, they would recognize the name.

The secretary gave her an odd look, taking in the young woman with the bright smile that wanted to see Mr. Taisho. She arched an eyebrow at her, which reminded Kagome a little of the demon she needed to see, before taking a manicured finger and placing it on an intercom button.

So he had his own intercom button, he must be pretty important, Kagome thought.

She smiled as his voice came through, "Hn." came the confirmation that he was there. The secretary's confusion grew at the smile spreading across the girl's face after hearing his voice.

"Mr. Taisho? There's a, um.." she paused and looked to Kagome expectantly.

"Kagome Higurashi." she gave her name.

Before the secretary could repeat the name into the loudspeaker, Sesshoumaru's voice came in, cutting her off, "Send her in." he said. Kagome fought a giggle at the shocked look on the secretary's face. The neighboring secretary had also heard and was just as surprised.

"Third door on your left." she directed Kagome, recovering from shock and pointing down an intimidatingly wide hall.

Kagome smiled and thanked the woman, still holding his jacket over her arm, which the secretaries didn't notice until she was walking away. This caused them to erupt in whispers amongst themselves until they saw a door in the hallway open and Mr. Taisho himself come out to greet the girl, who smiled brightly up at him.

Kagome herself had thought he would need the jacket, but she was looking at him now and he was wearing a brand new, tailored, tan suit. She should've known he had more than one jacket. He looked very nice, in fact.

"You left this with me." she said with a shy smile, holding it out for him, "Thanks again, by the way." He closed the door behind them and took the jacket from her, hanging it on the rack behind the door. He helped her out of her overcoat and hung it on the rack next to his jacket.

"Hn." he said as he travelled back to sit at his desk. Once he was seated, he placed a hand at his chin, regarding her thoughtfully. The girl under his scrutiny returned his stare and sat down in a large chair opposite his desk.

"You must be pretty important." she said, looking around and admiring the spacious room, "This is a big office."

"Hn." he let a smirk play on his lips behind the hand on his chin. He looked like he was enjoying a joke, Kagome thought. Sesshoumaru did not look like the type who enjoyed jokes. They looked at each other in silence before directing her attention and admiration to the interior decorations of the office. It was modern, clean cut, and sensible. It suited him very well.

"Hmm." she hummed, now wringing her hands together in the inescapable habit of fidgeting. Quiet reigned as she continued to look around. Sesshoumaru, seeing she was occupied for the moment, decided to look back to his paper work.

Her presence was oddly comforting in the sterile surroundings of the office. Instead of a cold, modern room, she made it warm and rich. He found himself doing his paperwork rather cheerfully, which was a big thing, for him.

And she didn't feel the need to talk. They were comfortable with no words at all, making Sesshoumaru very pleased. She simply watched him as he stacked a few papers here, signed a few papers there, and actually put on a pair of reading glasses to read some mysterious fine print on a particular document.

She looked at him intently, feeling a deep respect for the great demon sitting in front of her. He was obviously very high in status and yet he didn't flaunt it like some people half his rank. And he actually paid attention to her. She wasn't oblivious, she loved the attention she got from him. He didn't exactly look like the type who bended their working hours, so she did something to prove his attention was real. As her stomach growled, she thought of the perfect thing.

"You wanna go get something to eat?" she piped up from the chair, as if just realizing she was hungry, and Sesshoumaru looked up at her. They both looked at her stomach as it vocalized its agreement. She looked up with wide, smilingly embarrassed eyes.

Sesshoumaru smirked from behind his desk and set his papers down. He stood up, grabbing an overcoat from the rack and shrugged it on. He offered his hand to assist her out of her seat and helped her into her own jacket. He opened the door for her and they exited his office to get some lunch. It didn't matter that his lunch break wasn't for another two hours, he could use a good lunch, and maybe a stiff drink. The wide smile he received from Kagome told him he had given the right answer.

She grabbed the sleeve of his coat and started pulling him down the hallway. He was amused by her actions and leaned back, giving her a hard time in getting to the door. She turned around and huffed before grabbing his hand, surprising him and successfully removing him from the office building.

The secretaries at the front desk couldn't help but stare as their boss was being led by the hand and out the door by this bubbly young woman. What surprised them the most was that he didn't seem to mind it in the least.

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Sango looked up from the current margarita she was fixing as the door to the bar opened, letting a man and a woman in from the cold. After the man removed his heavy overcoat, Sango watched him help the woman out of her own coat. After both were hung up on the rack, Sesshoumaru walked to the sofa against the wall that had been placed there to give the bar a 'lounge' feel. It was faded and plaid, but it was comfortable. Myoga had gotten it a garage sale a few years back to personalize the empty wall of the bar.

Kagome walked straight to the bar as Sesshoumaru sat down on the sofa. He crossed his legs and leaned back against the furniture. They had planned to eat lunch, but since they walked from his office, their aimless wanderings had taken them here.

Kagome reached the barstool just as Sango gave a margarita to the woman who had ordered one.

Walking over to her friend, Sango raised a questioning brow, "So you two are coming _together_, now?" she asked.

Kagome narrowed her eyes skeptically, though she was still grinning, "No. I had to return something to him and we got hungry so we came here." she said, before correcting herself, "Well no, we actually just ended up here and we're probably going to get something to eat next door afterwards." she nodded in conclusion.

"Ah." Sango smiled and walked away. She came back momentarily with a glass of Bourbon in one hand, and a bottle of Smirnoff Ice in the other. Kagome smiled and took the drinks from her friends hands before walking back to the sofa.

She plopped down onto the soft cushions, making the entire sofa bounce and a layer of dust poof up. She handed the Bourbon to Sesshoumaru, who took it from her hand, and then she allowed herself to sink into it even more, all of her bones popping into place.

She let out a breathy sigh of contentment as she threw good posture out the window and slouched. Sesshoumaru's nostrils were flaring and he remained rigid, his back even straightened out a little more.

Kagome looked at him curiously from behind her drink and noticed he wasn't breathing and had a very strained look on his face. He was trying his hardest not to breathe through his nose especially, for whenever he needed a breath, his lips parted slightly to suck in the air. She looked at his white-knuckled hand that had his glass in a deathgrip and his brow that was furrowed deeply. He looked angry and yet not.

She leaned forward and placed her drink on the coffee table before turning toward Sesshoumaru and setting her hand on top of his in a worried gesture.

"What's the matter, Sesshou?" she asked.

He ground his teeth before forcing out, "The couch, ...the smell." he managed to say.

Confused Kagome sniffed the air, barely detecting a faint odor. Looking back at the demon who was battling with his sense of smell, she then turned and buried her nose into the cushion she was leaning on. The smell that hit her took her down. It was like a ton of bricks hit her head through her nose and she understood how his demons super-senses were rebelling.

Pulling back she covered her nose and started wiping any traces of the smell off of her face. From the smell alone she was able to conclude that throughout the years, many different animals had thrown up on this couch.

She turned back toward Sesshoumaru, her hand still on her wrinkled nose and made a disgusted face, showing him she could smell it now. His rigid posture seemed comical, now that she knew the reason for it.

Smiling, despite her screaming nose, she stood up with her drink and motioned for him to follow her. They walked over to a table that sat in between the actual bar and the row of booths against the wall. As they sat down, Kagome started giggling at his relieved stance.

It must have been when she practically jumped on the sofa, the smell must have come up with a 'poof' and clung to him like a cloud.

He arched an eyebrow at her, causing the giggles to escalate into laughter.

"That was horrible." she laughed. He looked at her iritably until the laughing was reduced to a bubbling giggle. "You poor thing." she finished, giving him a patronizing look. He didn't like that patronizing look one bit, so he tried to glare it off of her face.

"Well, don't look at me like that!" she protested, the look on her face now an ornery one as she took a sip of her drink, "It was funny."

"It certainly was not." he rumbled. He would have that smell in his nose for a week now, "Where did that thing come from?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure it's from a garage sale." she answered, hiding the fit of giggled that threatened to escape her.

"I will see to it that it is replaced." he turned around in his chair to glare at it, letting the piece of furniture know that revenge was coming. He would personally see to it that it was flattened and burned.

"Don't do that," she protested with a smile, "Just don't sit on it again."

"I can smell it even now." he said darkly, looking at her with hooded eyes. He didn't have to sit on it to smell it. Now that it was in the air, he could smell it from across the room.

"You're such a drama-queen." she giggled, completely throwing his dark mood off course. He looked at her like she had personally offended him.

She responded, "Oh, drink your Bourbon." before taking a long sip of her Smirnoff Ice. Sesshoumaru allowed himself a smirkish smile before grabbing his glass and taking her advice.

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Walking back to his office would have been pleasant, had he not been alone. Without the usual company, it was too cold outside and the walk took too long. He had enjoyed his lunchbreak very much, in fact to the point where he left the Italian restaurant two hours later than he had planned.

They had finished their drinks quickly, him insisting on leaving as soon as possible because the horrid smell was now in the air.

The smell of food was a welcome replacement to the couch from hell, and they had enjoyed their lunch before sharing a desert of baba and limoncello, which he was forever warming up to. They had, again learned alot about each other. They mostly talked about their childhoods, sparked by Kagome commenting on enjoying the same desert as a kid.

She had told him that she would have walked with him back to his office, but she had to go to the shrine for work. Since her grandfather died, she had to work there as a more full-time employee, instead of the flexible hours she used to have. He made a mental note to someday visit that shrine, and if he was lucky, he would get a glimpse of her in traditional miko garb.

As he opened the doors of his building, he wondered if she knew that it was_ his _building. She probably thought that he was an employee here. He almost chuckled at the thought.

His heels clicked against the hard floor of the foyer and he welcomed the sound of his small waterfall on the farside of the room. His hands in his pockets, like usual, he solemnly stepped down the hall and into his office. Once the door clicked shut, the secretaries burst into excited whispers again.

Oblivious to it all, Sesshoumaru removed his heavy outer coat and hung it on the rack in his office. Taking it off, he looked at the chair opposite his desk and could practically see her there, making the room a warm place. As he hung his coat up, his eyes fell on the jacket that had been returned to him and he looked at it for a while. Hesitantly, he reached for it and removed it from its hook. Grabbing it with his other hand as well, he brought it gingerly to his nose and inhaled deeply.

He shrugged out of his new business coat and hung it up where his other had been.

As he stepped slowly to the chair behind his desk, he put his arms through the sleeves and rolled his shoulders to get it into place. Once he was seated, he closed his eyes and let his head sink into the collar of the jacket she had worn.

He desperately needed something to chase away the foul smell from the sofa, and this would do. This would do quite nicely.

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Two weeks slid by like a lazy river. It had its up's and down's and stand out points, but for the most part, was filled with monotony. The only times it wasn't, to Kagome at least, was when she was with her demon friend. He somehow always proved to be a change of pace for her. Now late January, everybody was in the changing process.

There was more monotony than Sesshoumaru in her life, and she needed a change of pace in more ways than one. Kagome sipped her drink and enjoyed the different flavor.

Not wanting to tire it out, she was giving the ol' Smirnoff Ice a break and was switching to the Manhattan. It was a nice flavor and the red color did wonders for her other senses. Plus, Myoga loved it when he got to pick out something new for her to try. He always picked something she liked.

That particular night was the dance-club night held weekly at the bar, that despite his age, Myoga decided to work for. There were multicolored lights flashing all around Kagome, reflecting off of her hair and necklace and the music was turned up so high, she could feel the bass pounding in her chest.

Tonight was definitely a night out on the town. She had those only every so often. On these choice nights, she would put on an attractive dress, fix her hair, and play with dramatic make-up that made her eyes pop. Feeling daring, tonight she wore red lipstick that matched the drink in her hand.

She glanced over at the wall where a new, huge, leather sofa sat. A few couples were occupying it and drinking happily in the swirling music and lights. Heaving a mock sigh and hiding a smile that Sesshoumaru was actually true to his word about replacing that thing, she turned back to her drink.

Myoga, cleaning a glass and enjoying the music, noticed where her gaze had turned and winked at her, "Gives us a touch of class, don't you think?"

Kagome smiled widely at him, feeling very classy indeed. It was her night to be beautiful, she didn't have to dance to get pumped up. And it was much more classy to sit gracefully on a barstool with a feminine drink in her hand.

She usually just skipped out on these nights, her sensitive ears not being able to take long doses of the loud music. Tonight though, she wanted to be somewhere where people were. Or, more specifically, somewhere where she might see him.

Sesshoumaru also needed relief from his monotonous, routinely life. It had been his day off, so he was still in his casual clothes: a button down black shirt with black slacks. No business suit today.

And Kagome didn't know any of this until she saw him sit in the barstool next to her, the squeaky one. She heard his deep voice order a glass of Bourbon and smiled, some routines were hard to shake. She brought her Manhattan to her lips and enjoyed another sip before daring to look at him.

She turned her head and met his eyes. He had been looking at her. She didn't know why he was looking at her. She didn't that his mind was reeling at how stunning she looked. And she didn't know that they were still staring at each other when Myoga brought back the glass of amber alcohol.

Her mouth slowly spread into a dazzling smile, telling Sesshoumaru that she was happy to see him. That familiar look of surprise crossed her face when he returned with a smaller smile of his own, quickly hidden behind his glass of Bourbon.

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Okay...here you go!

What do you think?

I've got severe bronchitis with a touch of the flu, so tell me if I did alright for being sick as a dog.

I'm already working on the next chapter, yay!

Until then,

I'm just a hunka hunka burnin' lungs


	7. Chapter 7

Melting into the hot water was always Kagome's favorite part of taking a bath. She usually showered, which took less time and soap than the arduous process of bathing in still water. In winter, it was a special treat, because the hot water seemed to run out faster and she seemed to stay submerged longer. Being late January, it was exceptionally cold outside, perfect weather for a hot bath inside.

Tonight was a special night. Not for any particular reason, she just wanted to take a bath. She went through all the necessary preparations in the bathroom. She had gotten bath salts, soaps, and lotions all in her favorite scent: warm, vanilla sugar.

She had even gotten bubble bath, though the bubbles would always disappate half-way through her leisurely soak. That was the only downside, which she chose to ignore. She turned on the tv in her living room just for some outside noise to hear. It also made her apartment feel very lived-in.

And her routine would always end the same way. She would take off her clothes and glance at herself in the mirror, the way every girl does. She'd then kneel beside the bathtub and turn on the hot water, swirling in some bath salts as the water ran. It was usually about this time that she realized she had left some of the soaps she needed by the kitchen sink, and would wrap herself in a towel to go and retrieve them.

As she padded through the living room, she would always fantasize about a handsome man who would see her towelled figure in the window and instantly fall in love. It was a daydream that fizzled out very quickly and was often over before she even returned to the bathtub. Though, instead of a faceless man, today's daydream starred Sesshoumaru, standing outside in his business suit and looking up at her window.

She was a daydreamer at heart, so there was no helping it.

Another strange habit of hers was that she always left the bathroom door open when she took a bath like this. She liked to know what was going on in her apartment, and the various noises were comforting to her. It made her home feel alive, making her forget she was the only one in it.

As she sank into her personal hot spring, she sighed happily. The mountains of bubbles around her were like a toy as she took some in both hands and blew them out into the air. The bathroom smelled wonderful thanks to all of her bathing implements. The scent of warm vanilla sugar steamed upwards and soaked her skin, making her smell just as good as the surrounding air.

She dipped her head back into the water until it covered her ears. Her hands massaged her scalp and thoroughly soaked her hair. While underwater, all of the sounds of the apartment were muffled. So she felt the sounds, more than she heard them. She could feel the vibrations of the television, the zoom as the cars went by outside. She could also feel a low him, and she didn't know what it was.

Bringing her head up, she slicked her hair back and listened. It didn't take long for her to hear it again, as the phone rang again, a little more loudly this time.

Drooping her shoulders in a sigh, she pondered for a moment on getting out of the tub to answer it. It was a short battle that ended in her staying exactly where she was.

Sitting there soaking, she listened to her answering machine pick up the beep and play her recording.

_"Hi, this is Kagome. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message! I'll talk to you later, bye!" _she always hated hearing recordings of her voice. They always sounded way too high-pitched for her tastes. Another beep sounded before a message started to play.

"Hey Kagome, it's Sango." the machine recorded it as she spoke, "Listen, I was wondering if you would be willing to babysit tomorrow night. You and Ranmaru can just hang out by the bar like last time. Call me back. Bye." then another beep signaled the end of the message before it shut off and was silent again.

Kagome sank back into the steamy depths. Call her selfish, but she really didn't want to babysit again. She had to admit though, little Ranmaru was a great conversation starter when it came to impromptu meetings with businessmen. The subject had really gotten her and Sesshoumaru talking that day a few weeks ago. Would she have such great luck again?

She grabbed a sponge and began to scrub vigorously.

One could only hope, she thought.

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Clawed fingers silently turned the knob that would cease the flow of hot water. The same hands reached over the glass door to grab an awaiting towel and wrap it around the connected torso.

A glass shower door opened and a masculine figure walked to the mirror to wipe off the steam and lean against the counter.

Sesshoumaru regarded himself momentarily in the reflecting glass before grabbing his hair and wringing it out. Drying his long tresses was such a long and arduous process, he mostly let it dry naturally while he went about his normal routines. Hair dryers were out of the question because of his demonic ears. Excellent hearing was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. Therefore, he would let it drip-dry, which would normally result in half of his apartment slightly damp.

It was a Friday night in the Taisho apartment, a night where he would normally be enjoying a glass of Bourbon under warm lights elsewhere. Tonight, however, he had begun to see just how much he was favoring this particular haunt.

He needed to cut back on his visits to the bar if he wanted it to remain undiscovered. He quite enjoyed the warm, rustic mood it had along with the warm, unassuming people there. That was another of his problems. Along with spending too much time in one place, he was also beginning to see the danger of paying Kagome Higurashi too much attention.

But of course, those weren't the only reasons he wasn't going on this night. He looked at the small table beside his chair where a pair of broken plastic earrings rested on the glass top. They must have broken at some point during the remainder of her evening at the bar, when she probably deposited them in the pocket of his jacket for safe-keeping. She must have forgotten about them.

He really wished she would take better care of herself and her things. She was going to waste away with the amount of care she took of her own body and belongings. He would have to instill in her mind a sense of pride in general appearance. Yes, he felt she would benefit greatly from it.

Sitting in his chair with leftover paperwork was how he spent most nights. Then, he discovered the bar and went out more often. If anything, he sometimes went out for the sheer sake of going.

And he didn't have to go out tonight, especially if his only excuse for seeing her was that he should be out of the house. He was Sesshoumaru, he didn't need excuses to see a friend. Although, there was a certain feeling of power that came with having a reason to see her whenever he chose.

That being said, the power of having her earrings to return would be short-lived, as he would return them promptly the next morning. It would be a Saturday morning and from what he had gathered from their conversations, she very much enjoyed sleeping in.

Sudden thoughts of knocking on her door filled his mind and he chuckled at the way he would probably find her: completely dissheveled and in her night clothes. He wondered what kind of face she would make when her sleepy mind suddenly woke up and registered that he was there.

He couldn't help himself from picturing her the way he first saw her. Her hair would be a mess, her baggy clothes would be pulled this way and that from sleep, and her glasses would be continuously falling off of her nose.

She would adjust them with a finger poking out from the sleeve of her sweater. Then she would smile, and the whole room would brighten from it.

You see, Sesshoumaru was a daydreamer too.

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Saturday morning was bright and sunny, the perfect beginning to such a promising day. Sesshoumaru had woken with the sun, as always, and quickly got dressed. His recliner had been a place where he was prone to figdeting, constantly glancing at the earrings on the coffee table. He wasn't nervous or anything, waking up early was just how he was. It was what he did.

And now the damaged jewelry was burning a hole in the pocket of his ovrecoat as he walked briskly down the street. Eventually, he came to the apartment. He looked at his watch and found that it was 8:30 am. A reasonable time to wake up, right? He had given her sufficient time to 'sleep late' as she liked to do.

In fact, she was probably up and drinking coffee over the morning paper as he stood there, staring up at the building. With that thought, he opened the door and strode up the stairs with purpose. Her room was relatively easy to find judging by the positioning of her window and the floor she was on. There was a small, cheerful doormat in front of her door that said welcome.

He listened for a moment, but heard no sounds of movement from inside. No newspaper turning and no coffee-maker boiling made it past the door to his ears.

Could she possibly be still asleep? The appalling thought came without warning and he quickly shook it off. Raising a clawed finger to the doorbell, he heard it resound on the other side of the door. He frowned when the door did not open.

He rang the doorbell again, twice this time, and waited. When no one answered, he knocked on the door itself rather loudly. Surely that would wake anyone up who was still asleep. His frown deepened as he heard nothing.

The blank face of the door seemed to be mocking him. Every minute, he expected it to open and reveal her bright, rested face. And she would be happy to see him, too.

But no. The door only stared back at him, silently taunting him as he stood in the hallway on a mat that said 'welcome'. He glared at it. It was a few more seconds before the thought occured to him that Kagome might not be home at all.

Turning on his heel, he began to walk away, slowly coming to the stairs. He turned around and looked at her door, giving it one more chance to open and reveal its occupant. When it made no such move, he promptly continued his return trek down the stairs.

The next stop, of course, was the office and he wasted no time in getting there. He did hesitate, however, in front of a trash receptical about a block from his office building. He reached into the pocket of his overcoat and brought up the small, plastic earrings that had begun this day's mission in the first place. Turning them over gently in his palm, he looked at them for a few moments.

Then without another thought, he held his hand over the trashbin and turned it over, letting the jewelery fall into the receptical. He pushed his hands back into his pockets as he walked the last remaining block to work and watched his breath fan out in huffs.

He didn't cast a single glance back as he walked. After all, even if he had returned them to her, what use could she have for jewelery that was broken?

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I'm all better! Still hacking my brains out, but much better!

Thank you so much to all those who wished me well, it worked!

(The doctor actually had me on steriods, which will explain the chapters im cranking out at blinding speed)

I don't know about you guys, but I sleep waaaaay past 8:30 on Saturdays.. Sesshy's clueless. And oh, he threw away the earrings.

Thanks for reading, and tell me what you think!


	8. Chapter 8

Myoga leaned against the back wall in his apron, cleaning a glass like always, and watching the door. It had been a while since either of his most recent patrons had shown their faces at the bar, and he couldn't help himself from getting a little anxious.

He was really starting to miss his Kagome. He would hear her every time she sang on the other side of the wall in the restaurant, and he would wait a while after she had ended, for her to walk through the entrance of the bar. Even though she was singing like always, she hadn't come to visit him in a while. Just as he sighed and put away the now clean glass, the entrance was opened and the girl herself walked in.

She stopped in the doorway, and the bartender watched as her eyes passed over the establishment from the left wall to the right, looking for something. Or someone, he thought silently.

Her brow momentarily furrowed when she didn't find what (or who) she was looking for. Myoga attributed it to the absence of a favored drinking buddy at the bar. But her troubled expression cleared up almost as soon as it appeared.

She never liked to show her true emotions on her face, but as she stood there, the elderly bartender could tell that she was trying to decide whether or not to stay, even though what she was looking for wasn't there. He could see her asking herself if it would look too weird if she just walked back out the way she came in.

The battle ended when she decided she didn't want to seem like an idiot, so she walked to the bar and sat down on a stool in front of Myoga.

"You look disappointed." he said, an amused tint to his voice.

She made a grunting noise and kept her eyes down. She didn't even order a drink as she sat there. After about five minutes, Kagome decided she could leave after all and got up off of her stool.

"Well, I gotta go. Bye Myoga, see you later!" she called as she walked quickly out the door.

Myoga raised his eyebrows after her. He'd never seen her do _that_ before.

Not thinking much on it, because he had been happy to see her, he returned to his stack of glasses and continued to make them spotless for display. He did this for another twenty minutes before the bell on the door chimed again and a looming presence filled the room.

He looked up at the demon standing in the doorway, where, not half an hour ago, Kagome had been.

Sesshoumaru's usual angry expression was in place as his gaze coasted across the room. He was looking for something (or someone). When he didn't find it, he simply turned around and stormed out the way he came.

Myoga stared after him with wide eyes before it hit him.

They just missed each other, he thought with a chuckle, and returned to cleaning the dirty glass in his hand.

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Valentine's day had arrived at the bar, so Myoga decorated the entrance with a small paper cupid. He had always been quite the romantic. So had Kagome. And Valentine's day usually meant a very sullen Kagome. Not one that was normally in love, she never really received any gifts like chocolate or flowers.

Valentine's day was the day that she again realized that there must be something wrong with her. All the other girls had boyfriends, didn't they? And even if they didn't, they all still got random gifts from their many admirers.

So what was wrong with her? I mean, sure she got the occasional card from familiy members, and then there were the presents from Miroku and Sango, but those don't count! We're talking romantically, here. Her ex-boyfriend had always just sent a cheerful card. She now realized that, though she appreciated the thought, flowers really would have been more appropriate, and more wanted for that matter.

She'd never gotten a single rose.

Well, that's not true. Myoga, forever her hero, had given her a rose on Valentine's day every year since she met him. She hated to cross him off the list, but he wasn't romantically interested in her, so he didn't count either. But she still always looked forward to that single rose, more than anything else on Valentine's day. It made her realize that people did love her. People did give her flowers. She really had no reason to complain.

But she felt so much like whining! On Valentine's day, every year, all she wanted to do was grab a bottle of Crown Royal, curl up in her favorite recliner, and watch _The Wedding Date_.

Romantic comedies were the enigmas that made her feel better and spiral further into depression at the same time.

But not this year, no! This year, she had someone to give a valentine to, romantically. Someone whose reaction would actually make her nervous, with butterflies in her stomach and everything. Someone she could daydream about all day long!

Oh yes, Sesshoumaru was getting a valentine. He'd never know what hit him.

She was actually so excited about giving him this perfect valentine that it didn't matter to her whether he gave her one in return or not. Okay, that's not true either. The truth was, that she really, really wanted one from him, but there was a huge doubt in her mind that she would even get one.

He didn't even look like the valentine type.

So, as she prepared his valentine, she chose to believe that it would be a one-sided Valentine's day. Her logic told her that it was better to aim low and be pleasantly surprised than to have your high hopes crushed. Therefore, she would be aiming low to avoid disappointment.

She had been working diligently all morning, brainstorming on what would be the perfect gift to a suit-wearing businessman who had a thing for neckties. That was when it had hit her. The perfect idea now in her head, she had set off for the store to retrieve the perfect ingredients. She stormed through aisles three and four, a tornado with a shopping cart.

She checked out with a bottle of the best Bourbon she could find, and a neck-tie that had been her favorite every time she passed it at this store.

She was hesitant about giving him Bourbon. After all, it would eliminate his reason to go to the bar if he already had the drink where he worked. She couldn't think of anything else, though, and she didn't want to just give him a tie.

The bourbon had come with her choice of a shotglass. She had picked a very simple, clear shotglass. It was classic, just like him.

Now, on the floor in her living room, leaning against her recliner, she was excitedly employed in arranging the gift. After many failed attempts of making an attractive presentation, she found the perfect set up.

The shotglass was simply placed on the neck of the bottle, the neck being inside the upside-down glass. The necktie was tied and gently placed around the bottle's neck, making it look very professional. Kagome adjusted it and sat back to smile at her handiwork. She hoped he would like it. Would he wear the neck-tie? Probably not. Would he use the shot glass? Probably not. Would he drink the Bourbon? Yep.

Her excitement drowned out her anxiety so she was cheery all day, the cheeriest she had ever been on Valentine's day. She couldn't wait to give it to him.

She had decided to go in mid-afternoon, a time where she had no clue where he would be. If he was there, she would give it to him with a smile and watch his reaction excitedly. If he wasn't there, she would leave it on his desk as a surprise. Her plan was fool-proof.

The excitement made most of the day pass by in a woosh of butterflies and little hearts. She finally set out for his office, brown paper bag containing the gift, in tow. She was walking over an hour earlier than she wanted to. The waiting proved to be too much for her. As the sidewalk passed beneath her feet, there was a spring in her step and a barely concealed smile on her face.

She clutched the bag to her chest, hugging her brilliant idea. She kept her optimism in check, however, when she came to the entrance of _Yamamoto Inc._ and opened the door. She had to admit, the sound of the waterfall in the foyer was a brilliant touch to the otherwise emotionless room. It definitely drowned out the clacking sound of keyboards, that's for sure.

The keyboards were the sounds that geeted her as she finally made it to the front desk. The same secretary looked at her, expecting an odd spectacle like her last visit, though she couldn't wait to see her reaction to the information she was about to reveal.

"Mr. Taisho isn't here." the secretary said with an air of expectancy, looking up at Kagome.

"Great!" Kagome exclaimed, surprising the woman and the other women around her, "Can I just leave this on his desk?" she held up her brown paper bag by the handles excitedly.

The woman looked from the bag to the girl with raised eyebrows before giving her a tentative smile, "Sure, go ahead."

Kagome smiled and thanked her before starting to walk down the hall to the third door on her left. The secretary stopped her, however, leaning over the desk to ask a question, "What are you leaving for him?" she asked curiously. The young woman stopped and turned around to answer.

"His Valentine's Day present." Kagome said, smiling brightly before putting a finger to her lips for secrecy, "Shhhhhhhh!"

The secretary nodded and smiled back at the woman who turned around to leave a present on her boss's desk. She was glad he was getting something for Valentine's day. As cold as he was, her boss was a good boss. He was a little uptight, (alot uptight), but he was a good employer and she was lucky to be able to work for him, even if he did terrify her.

Which is why she was pleasantly surprised to find that someone had finally broken through his icy exterior. She thought very highly of the young woman leaving a present in his office.

Said young woman was currently hovering over the large office desk, arranging the gift in the most perfect way possible. Shot glass upside-down on bottleneck? Check. Neck-tie tied around the bottleneck? Check. Card so he knew who the gift was from.. not check.

Kagome had forgotten to get a card. Apparently, her plan was not as fool-proof as she previously thought. She looked around his desk for a nice piece of paper she could fold up and tape to the shotglass. She found nothing she could fold, all she did find was paperwork. She would have thought her conquest an utter disappointment if she hadn't come across the yellow post-it notes in the lower drawer of his desk.

Clapping in joy at her last minute innovation, she quickly discovered a sharpie marker and uncapped it, writing a short message on the sticky-note. Her message written, she tore it from the stack and stuck it triumphantly onto the face of the shotglass.

Sighing happily and standing back to look at her handiwork, she was just about to leave the office when she turned around and came face to face with his chair. Now, chairs were Kagome's weakness. Provide her with a recliner and she was content for life. If she had a comfortable chair, she was in love. And this chair in front of her was the chair of her dreams.

It was big, it was leather, and it looked comfy. She gulped, silently weighing the risk to benefit ratio in her head. If she sat in it, he would be able to smell that she had violated his space and sat in his chair. On the other hand, she might not get another chance to enjoy this simple pleasure unobserved.

The next thing she knew, she was plopped in his chair, curling up as comfortably as a cat and sinking into the soft leather. She felt like a child in her grandfather's rocking chair, too small for the piece of furniture. The back of it rose about a foot over her slouched shoulders and her feet just barely touched the ground. Placing her hands on the arms of the chair she let herself relax and be soothed by his smell. It was everywhere in this room and she liked it alot.

Looking at the clock on the desk, she realized she would have to leave if she wanted to get out of there before he showed up. Reluctantly, she peeled herself away from the comfortable leather and got up, throwing away her brown paper bag in his trash can.

She opened the door and took one last minute to admire her work before she left. She closed the door softly behind her before smiling at the secretary, thanking her again, and practically skipping out the door. She didn't know that the moment she was out of sight, all three secretaries had gotten out of their chairs and bolted to the office she had just left, to see what Mr. Taisho's present was.

She would have giggled had she known.

She giggled anyway, proud of her stealthy and successful delivery of the valentine. She was hungry by this time, and looking forward to some left-overs she had in the fridge, so she went in the direction of home.

As she walked up the stairs, she made a mental note that if she could ever afford to move, she would move to a place with less stairs. Or at least an elevator. But, always one to count her blessings, Kagome celebrated the fact that she did not tumble backwards down to the ground floor again. That was never a pleasant experience.

All she could think about as she opened her apartment door was his reaction to the gift. Would he be expecting it? Would he even be back at the office that day to get it? There was not a doubt in her mind that the secretaries would scope out his every move and break it down for her later, so she had no worries there.

As she walked through the living room and rounded the corner into the kitchen, something in the window caught her eye. The curtains were closed and so was the window, but there was something outside.

Opening the curtains curiously, she gasped in surprised.

There, on the sill, was a bouquet of roses and daffodils, her favorite flowers. She smiled broadly as she noticed the makeshift Smirnoff bottle vase they were in. The neck was tied with a ribbon and on the sill beside the flowers was a small box. On top of that box, was a simple, white card tied with another ribbon.

Smiling wider than she had ever smiled on Valentine's day, she opened the window and leaned onto the large sill. Her hand reached out and grabbed the card, untying the ribbon carefully and opening it.

A beautiful, calligraphic handwriting met her eyes and she read the note that was written there.

_For you._

_~Sesshoumaru_

It was short, like everything he said, but it told her all she needed to hear. She gently closed the card and placed it next to her on the windowsill before reaching and bringing the vase of flowers inside. After setting them on the coffee table beside her chair, she stepped back and reached for the jewelry box. Opening it made her so excited, she had to fight herself from flinging the top off and squealing in happiness.

She squealed anyway when she lifted the lid and laid eyes on a pair of small, beautiful pearl earrings. With a slightly pinkish hue, they were an attractive oval shape. She put them in quickly and walked over to the mirror against her living room wall to admire her gift. They were a classic beautiful. She smiled, turning her head this way and that to admire them from different angles. Then she walked back to her recliner, hunger forgotten for the moment, and sat down, pulling the flowers into her lap. She happily buried her nose in the red and yellow flowers and inhaled deeply.

Her smile unconsciously softened as a pair of broken earrings made their way to the surface of her memory.

This happy feeling wasn't totally foreign to her. But, this feeling was different somehow. It was the feeling of knowing there wasn't something wrong with her, that she _could_ get flowers on Valentine's day. It was knowing that the reason he hadn't been at his office when she was there, was because he was here at her apartment, leaving a present for _her_.

Smiling again, she knew that he had probably returned to his office by now, and was discovering her present at that very moment.

Happy Valentine's Day, Sesshou, she thought happily.

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Happy Valentine's Day everybody! May you all recieve flowers and candy and corny cards galore!


	9. Chapter 9

Sesshoumaru entered his office building with his usual air of stoicism. Always consciously done, his cold demeanor was meant to silence anyone that would dare try to speak to him. It was times like these when he was sorely tempted to look at the waterfall and find out if he could freeze it with a single icy glance. His countenance was especially aloof this afternoon, because the warmth he felt inside could not be seen by anybody else, and he would make sure of it.

The reason for his cheerfulness? His mission had been a success. Not that it surprised him of course, it was only that this particular mission was new to him. It was possibly the first time he had ever, in his life, given a 'valentine'. It was also the first time he had felt anxious about the reaction his gift would evoke.

His steps were slow as he reached the front desk, still dealing with this new and alien thing called anxiety. As he turned on his heel to enter into his designated hallway, he paused. He turned his head slightly to glance behind him at the desk, just in time to see all three secretaries quickly avert their gazes back to their work.

Having effectively silenced their prying eyes, he continued on to his office. His anxiety was so deeply rooted by this time, he didn't even wonder what had made his secretaries as nervous as they were. He honestly didn't care at the moment what the reason for their staring was. He opened the door to his office and stepped inside, removing his outer coat, which he wouldn't need for much longer if the weather kept warming up like it was.

He hung it on the rack and paused when he inhaled. Taking a deliberately deep breath, he took in the air around him. And that's when he smelled it. Or rather, he smelled _her. _

Turning around slowly, a foreign object on his desk caught his eye. Her scent clouded around it as if she had fussed over the positioning of the bottle and glass for quite some time. He let a fang slide out in a smirk as he picked up the attractive shotglass from the bottleneck and held it up to eye level. He had to say, the woman had excellent taste not only in drinks, but in glassware. The yellow, post-it note was also a nice touch.

On it, was drawn the outline of a large heart, with a small note written inside. It said, _Happy Valentine's Day, Sesshou! Love, Kagome. _followed by a smiley face placed haphazardly in the corner. He carefully peeled it from the glass and opened the side drawer in the cabinet by his desk. He stuck it on the bottom of that drawer, there to be seen whenever he opened it.

Closing the drawer, he picked up the bottle of Bourbon. It was not the highest quality, but the only bottle he would be drinking until it ran out. As he reached to unscrew the top, the necktie still tied around the bottle finally caught his attention.

He removed it and inspected it in his hands. It was two basic colors, red-maroon and white. The white area was clouded in the middle, blending into a hexagonal pattern of the maroon. It was elegant and masculine at the same time.

Curious as to if this tie would be suitable to wear in public, he deftly undid his own royal purple tie and replaced it with his new gift. Nimble fingers quickly secured it and he seated himself at his desk, only to pause yet again. Around this area, was a concentration of nothing but warm, vanilla sugar: her unique smell. He leaned back against the large office recliner and inhaled satisfactorily.

The little vixen sat in my chair, he thought with a smirk.

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Ehehehhe! I couldn't stop myself, it was too good an opportunity to pass up!

The secretaries later giggled at the fact that he had gone in with his purple tie and came out wearing the gift from Kagome. His hopes that they wouldn't notice it were squashed immediately.

Happy Valentine's Day :D! Again!


	10. Chapter 10

Sesshoumaru walked into the bar and seated himself at his customary stool by the counter, next to a brunette with a Manhatten in her hand.

A glass of bourbon was automatically placed in front of him by the bartender, the woman this time, and Sesshoumaru looked down below his feet around the stools for the baby carrier that usually accompanied her. Finding none, he turned his head toward the woman and nodded his thanks for the drink.

The second part of his Valentine's gift, the bottle of bourbon, had since been consumed, so his visits to the bar had become frequent again.

"Well this is a change." a musical voice said from beside him.

He turned to look at the brunette who was now smiling at him. She elaborated, "Usually I'm the one to walk in last."

"Hn." was his noncommittal response as he turned to his drink, one that Kagome was very much accustomed to hearing. Smiling again at the endearing sound, she took a sip of her drink and enjoyed it all the way down. She froze though, when she felt a clawed finger on the tip of her earlobe.

"You like your gift." he said, referring to the earrings she was wearing. He sounded pleased.

"So do you." she smiled broadly at him and pointed to the white and maroon tie he was wearing, "And I do like my gift, I love it. Thank you." she admitted and turned back to her drink with a light blush on her cheeks.

He gave another "Hn." and returned his hand to the drink he was sipping, the look in his eyes a shade softer than when he first walked in. Sango watched the oblivious pair and took mental notes. Myoga had prompted her to keep an eye on the two to see for herself if they were a good match, and if they could trust their Kagome with him. So far, so good.

A few minutes passed in pleasant silence, each sipping on a drink or cleaning a glass.

Just then, the bell on the entrance sounded as it opened to let someone in. Nobody paid attention to the new customer at first, but then a sniffle was heard. It sounded like a crying child. Sango looked up from cleaning the glass in her hand as Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder, and Kagome swiveled completely around to face the door. It _was_ a crying child.

A little boy, who couldn't have been more than three years old, was standing there in the doorway trying to rub his tears away. He looked very, very lost. He was a true carrot-top and his hair was pulled back into a ponytail on the top of his head. He sniffled again before calling watery little voice, "Opa...?"

It was a word that none of them had heard before, save for one, and the child's accent was very distinct. Sango looked at the one who understood and said, "Kagome."

Kagome didn't answer or even acknowledge she had spoken, because she had already got up to make her way to the little boy.

Sesshoumaru completely turned his head to take in the exchange of words between the child and the girl in a decidedly gutteral language. He couldn't put a specific name to it, but he could hear Kagome reaching to the very back of her throat for the hacking sounds that accompanied some of the words.

She was kneeling on the floor trying to comfort the boy, and she even pulled a weak smile out of him through his tears.

Finally, he watched her stand up and hold out her hand to this boy, who shyly took it and followed her to the bar, still sniffling and wiping his nose. She picked him up and placed him on the stool between her and himself.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she fought a giggle. "This is Myoga's grandson. He lives in Germany but he's here to visit his grandpa." she told him as she ruffled the boys hair and ordered him a Shirley Temple. "His name's Shippo."

At the sound of his name, the boy looked up at her and she gave him a dazzling smile. He smiled back, his tears almost forgotten as he grabbed the straw of the drink now in front of him. Shippo looked like he was rapidly cheering up. He slurped noisily with a happy look on his face as Kagome pulled out her cellphone.

Sesshoumaru watched as her nimble fingers dialed a number and she held it to her ear as it rang.

"You lose something, Myoga?" she asked good-naturedly as the other end picked up.

Sesshoumaru heard a frantic voice on the other end of the line followed by a reassurance from Kagome, "He's right here Myoga, I've got him. We're at the bar." she told him. There was more frantic talking and then Kagome said goodbye, hanging up the phone and putting it in her purse.

And that's when it hit him. He didn't have her phone number. This would prove problematic if he ever wanted to know where her shrine was and needed to call for directions. He took a sip of his Bourbon and turned to her.

"Kagome.." he started seriously.

She had been in the middle of talking animatedly with Shippo and looked up, "Ja?" she asked with a smile, still in German mode.

"How would you like to work for me?" he asked. Now, that had not been what he originally intended to come out of his mouth, but watching her converse so freely and easily in a second language (fifth language if his counting was correct), made him realize that she was the perfect candidate for a foreign affairs translator, as well as several other prestigous positions at _Yamamoto Inc._

"What?" she asked, slightly confused.

"Come and work for me." he repeated. He remembered, off-handedly, that her phone number would be a requirement for his staff information files. He would get what he wanted in due time.

All Kagome could think was, wow, this was sudden

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"Well, kid?" Myoga asked, "What'd you say?" he set a clean glass down on a shelf behind him before retrieving a dirty one from the sink. He had a shaker in his hands and was mixing a drink while he waited for her answer and looked at her expectantly.

"I told him I'd think about it." she said defensively, staring at the martini glass in front of him that was waiting for it's drink, "But at first I was too shocked to say anything!"

It was late in the evening and Kagome was repeatedly dazing off to think about the events of the day. Myoga always snapped her out of it though, with his persistent inquiries.

The man let air out of his mouth in an impressed whoosh and gave Kagome a surprised look. He opened the shaker and poured a red liquid into the martini glass. Putting the shaker away, he turned back and pushed the Manhatten toward Kagome. She smiled and said thank you, bringing the bright liquid to her lips.

He had retrieved his grandchild earlier that evening, Kagome having requested to keep him for a few hours to speak German with him, since it had been a while since she spoke it, and she was rusty. She had been quite dazed when he got to her, and now he knew why.

After returning Shippo to his mother at the old bartender's house, he had returned for work and demanded the whole story, which Kagome told him.

"Kagome, this is a great honor you have. Not just anybody can get a job at _Yamamoto Inc._" he made sure she knew this was special treatment, "I think the janitors have to have at least three PhD's." Kagome giggled at that and took a sip of her drink before answering him.

"I know." she almost whined, "I think he's the manager of the building too, so he's pretty important." Another sip of her Manhatten momentarily calmed her frazzled nerves.

She looked up as the old bartender shook his head with a knowing smile. "What?" she asked, knowing that look he had had said 'I know something you don't'.

"He's not manager of the building." he chuckled and raised an eyebrow at her, watching her closely and waiting for her reaction.

"Oh?" she said, "Then what is he?" she tilted her head to the side, very much resembling a confused dog.

"He's the owner of that building, and several others." he informed her, "He owns the company Kagome, along with half of Japan."

"Are you serious?" she asked, her eyes wide. The information was sinking in slowly and she was suddenly irked that he hadn't told her. What was the big deal about it? I mean, of course it was a little bit of a shock to find out that a friend of yours is the richest man in the country, but did he think her so shallow as to be worried about something like that? Is that the kind of vibe she put out?

That's what got her more angry than anything. She would have treated him the same way if she had met him as a janitor coming in for a drink instead of a rich businessman. Off-handedly, she was also proud of herself for remaining steadfast in her personality and having the knowledge that she did exactly what she said she would. She treated him as a person, regardless of his status.

Myoga watched her facial expression, which bore an eery calm that resembled the business demon himself, but he knew that her brain was doing backflips over all of this new information. It was always difficult to tell what the little multi-linguist was thinking.

The old bartender placed his elbows on the counter and leaned towards her, "What's going on in that head of yours?" he asked as he gazed earnestly at her, almost trying to see if he could find out simply by staring at her.

"Who knows?" she shrugged and half-smiled. At that moment, her thoughts had jumped to her two current jobs, both of which she was very happy with.

Working as a miko at her grandfathers shrine was a dream she'd had since she was a little girl and had been very proud to achieve it. She was brought up watching her family work around her in this happy place and wanted nothing more than to do the same when she grew up. Her mother and her grandmother before her had worked in the shrine, wearing the same miko garb she was using now.

It wasn't just a job to her, it was a family tradition that she loved dearly. It also allowed her to use and exercise her extensive historic knowledge, another thing she loved to do. She could recite textbooks without people's eyes glazing over and being classified as a dork, because it was _her_ _job_ to recite textbooks. Here, people were interested in what she was talking about.

Kagome was a people person and her job at the shrine _required_ not only that she be around people all day, but that she interact with them and make sure they were happy. It was like her calling. If she took this job offer, she would have to find someone else to work at the shrine and wear her miko clothes.

Now her restaurant job was nothing to shake a stick at either. She loved to sing and she loved languages. This job was practically made for her. And her coworkers were so nice it was unbelievable. Cosmo was the greatest boss a girl could ask for. He had even taught her Italian when she had decided she wanted to learn it. All of the servers and hosts... The chefs... All of them were her friends.

Would she be able to give that up? For a desk job? Granted, it would be a desk job where she could be close to Sesshoumaru. And she could also make friends with the playful secretaries she had encountered there before. She would wreak havoc on the office everyday and try to bring some sunshine into that sterile place.

She'd be able to speak the languages she loved and exercise them more often. They would be put to good use.

She wouldn't dislike it at all. And that's what made this decision so hard.

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Which one will she choose? Which one do you think she should choose?

Sesshoumaru actually surprised himself when he asked her that but he didn't regret it, hehe.

And it's the mardi gras holidays, yay! therefore I am off of school.

I thought that it had been way too long since I updated, which would explain this tidbit of a chapter...

Well, review and tell me what you think!


	11. Chapter 11

Sesshoumaru strolled into his office proudly. His shoulders were straight and his stride was long and sure. His gait led him to the secretaries desk at the end of the room.

The secretaries themselves were more than surprised when, instead of taking his usual route of passing them by and going straight to his office, he stopped and fixed his cold gaze on the secretary directly in front of him. She shrank under his scrutiny.

"I am expecting a job acceptance in the near future." he said, "Alert me immediately when it comes." He paused, stood there for a fraction of a second, and that was all they heard from him before he continued on to his office as if he'd never stopped. He had a certain smugness about him that day, and the secretaries had a feeling that this upcoming job confirmation would just give the smugness a foundation.

The young secretary that he had affronted was now slouched in her chair and fanning herself. The weight of his gaze had been too much for her to handle at once. The other secretaries at the desk tried to make her feel better and reassure her, all the while secretly glad that it hadn't been them that their boss cornered.

While they were thankful for their job and a boss that was fair, he scared them to death.

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The next week, Sesshoumaru walked briskly into his office, his hasty shoes making a distinct 'click' on the tile floor. The secretaries had been hearing his steps the same time every day for the past few years and it was only now that they started to dread it. His footsteps were the only means of interpreting his mood that they had, and they used it every time they could. Today, his sharp footsteps signaled the impatience of the otherwise emotionless demon.

And instead of turning straight into his office, his new routine was to stop in front of the secretary who sat at the center of the desk and stare at her until she shook her head in the negative and he went on his way as briskly as he had come.

The secretaries had devised a plan to lessen the stress for the one who sat at the center. They would rotate their places so they took turns bearing the brunt of his gaze. It really was too much for one person to handle twice in the same week.

What Sesshoumaru was really doing, was silently asking if the job acceptance had come yet. The answer would always be a no or a shake of the head. His patience was wearing thinner and thinner with every negative answer he received.

Sesshoumaru Taisho had offered a job! Not just any job, either, but a highly ranked, top-of-the-food-chain position in his company. He expected her to run to the office the day of his offer to accept it, and yet.. It had been two weeks since he had voiced his offer. And no sign of that ungrateful girl yet.

He made a silent pact with himself to go on a hiatus from the bar to try and lure her to his office. We'll see how well that goes.

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Sesshoumaru's shoes made no click against the tiles as he walked across the room. The secretaries knew this meant he was in a dangerous mood. When he was like this every sound annoyed him, therefore he made his footsteps quiet.

He silently approached the front desk and looked at the middle secretary. She shrank a bit, but looked back. He raised an eyebrow at her and looked bored, almost daring her to give him the wrong answer.

She shook her head slowly and watched his face. She couldn't detect the minute shift of his jaw or the narrowing of his eyes, so she relaxed a bit. He turned on his heel and entered the hallway. It had been about two months since they began waiting for this job acceptance and they were beginning to worry that it would never come. They watched him open the door and close it as silently as ever and after listening for a few minutes, no sound came from inside the room.

Now, usually when a boss is angry, yelling can be heard throughout the office and doors are slammed wherever he goes. What was scary, was when their boss was angry, there was no noise at all.

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Kagome swirled the shot of vodka in her hand and returned a weak smile to Myoga. She hadn't seen Sesshoumaru in two months and she had her answer ready for him. Waiting for him would take some patience.

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Dun dun dun. Sesshoumaru won't go to the bar, but that's where Kagome's waiting for him! The office scares her...

*Gasp*

Those poor secretaries. Oh well, their ordeal is not quite over yet.

Review please!


	12. Chapter 12

Good grief, how long had it been, huh? I really missed this story. But I'm back now!

It's about to get serious folks, so hold on to your hats and keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle.

Here we go! :)

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Four months crawled across the calender and it was now the end of spring. Kagome hadn't seen Sesshoumaru at all and it was beginning to get to her. In fact, she was starting to think he was avoiding her. Did he think his job offer was a mistake? Did he want to take it back? No, Sesshoumaru wasn't the type to hide from his mistakes. He didn't even make mistakes to hide from. The perfect bastard.

Kagome just got so frustrated thinking about it sometimes. She felt that this flawless demon asking her to work with him was like asking her to be perfect, which she most certainly was not.

And this line of reasoning was the cause of her current predicament. Kagome was currently standing with her feet apart in front of the building.

_Yamamoto Inc._ stood before her in all it's corporate glory and she took a deep breath before pushing the glass door open and walking in. Her heels made an uncharacteristic 'click' on the tiled floor that she wasn't used to. It was very unusual for her to wear anything but flat shoes. Her nervous feelings about this decision made her dress rather nervously.

She actually looked very stately in her skirt and business jacket as she strode to the other end of the room.

And she was so nervous she couldn't see straight. Kagome tried to be devias and time it just right, so that there was a possibility that he wouldn't be at the office. If he happened to be there, well, she would just die.

The secretaries had caught sight of her by now and their eyes were following her all the way up to the front desk. Somehow they knew that this was the person they had been waiting for, the person that their boss had been waiting for, for the past few months.

They all had their fingers crossed as the clicking of her heels stopped in front of them and she looked at the middle secretary with wide eyes. The anticipation in the air hung in clouds around them.

Kagome looked at the woman in front of her and cleared her throat, "My name's Kagome Higurashi.." she began.

"Are you here to accept the offer?" the secretary cut in excitedly, knowing this girl would understand what she meant.

"I am here to acknowledge it," Kagome corrected her, "and to say thanks, but I must decline it." Her eyes were on the floor as she said this, so she didn't see the secretary go pale at her statement.

"You can't decline," she said, almost desperately, "please reconsider." The image of her boss and how he would react to this news was now in her mind. She felt sick.

"I'm sorry." Kagome said, her voice sympathetic, "I've actually thought long and hard about this. This was probably the hardest decision I've ever made in my life! But I made it. And I'm sticking with it." Her jaw was set and her voice was resolute. She nodded once and waited for the secretary to say something. Anything.

The entire desk was silent as they watched this exchange. They had all gone white with the news that the offer had been declined. God help the secretary that had to tell him.

"He won't like this." the woman said quietly, shakily.

"I know." Kagome agreed. The secretary looked up at her with frightened eyes. If this girl, the one that knew him most, thought that he would react badly to this then they were toast.

"Could you tell him I'm sorry." Kagome asked sincerely, "That I couldn't take the job, that is."

"Of course." the secretary said. As scared as she was, she could do it if it was needed. She had to say, though, she was very disappointed. She had expected this girl to rise to the occasion and meet her employer's expectations. They must have been wrong about her. She couldn't say she thought as highly of the girl now as she had before.

"I know I should've told him myself and come at a time when he was here," Kagome confessed, "but I'm really glad he's not."

"No," the secretary smiled wryly, "you've left that to me."

"I'm sorry," Kagome apologized, "but I just can't."

"Alright, just go about your business, I'll handle things here." the secretary took on a cold, business-like tone that practically ushered Kagome out the door.

She sighed sadly and said goodbye before walking across the tiled room, leaving some of her melancholy mood behind her. The secretaries honestly didn't know what was going to happen when Mr. Taisho got there. He scared them on a daily basis, _without_ the bad news they now had to tell him. This Kagome girl was not their favorite person in the world at the moment.

And after three hours of glancing at the clock and wringing their hands, their boss still hadn't shown up.

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It was almost time to clock-in for the day when Sesshoumaru finally arrived at the office building. The moment he walked in the door and started to cross the room was the moment of truth for the secretaries. In that one moment they were able to deduct his mood and decide on the safest way of dropping the bombshell.

His heels made a distinct 'click' on the marbled floor, which meant he was in a decent mood. In fact, he seemed rather cheery by his own standards.

This would make it so much harder to tell him because they knew it would bring him down. It made them sad to see him the least aggravated he had been in weeks and know that they would ruin it for him. It also scared them to pieces.

He approached the desk and followed his routine of cornering the center stage secretary, but something was different this time. Today, though his facial expression was as glacial as ever, there was a hopeful air about him. It was almost as if he knew that the girl had shown up that day, but just didn't know her answer yet.

"Your applicant visited us today.." the woman began slowly.

"Hn." was all he said, waiting for her to finish. She looked up and met his eyes but had to look away. My goodness, he didn't even blink. She felt sick again.

"She thanked us for the offer," she stopped again to watch his face and again she had to look down, "but she regretfully declined it."

The pressure in the air around them suddenly spiked and the secretaries looked up from the bearer of bad news to the recipient of it. He looked as calm and cool as ever, though the hopeful air around him had been completely rotted out with animosity.

He straightened his gaze after staring the secretary down and turned on his heel to leave. His footsteps were silent on the hard floor as he quickly quit the building.

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Kagome swung the door open and walked into the bar. As soon as she was in the doorway she removed her business pumps and let them hang from her hand, her bare feet slapping against the linoleum floor as she walked across the room.

"Hey kid," Myoga greeted her as she took a seat on the barstool in front of him, "You'll never guess who you missed."

"Vodka please." she replied, putting her head on the counter. Myoga smiled fondly at her and retrieved a glass and filled it with clear, potent liquid that solved all problems.

"It wasn't that bad, was it?" he asked her, pushing the glass toward her head. She lifted it and grabbed the drink, gulping half of it down right away. She simply looked at him in response to his question.

"Well aren't you going to even guess who you missed?" he asked playfully, ignoring the dirty look she was still giving him. He leaned his elbows on the counter and grinned at her. His cheerful mood aggravated Kagome and she wanted to ask him to leave her alone but that would be unkind... Especially considering he would probably have to pay for the glass of vodka she was enjoying, since she left her wallet at home.

"Um, Sango." she guessed, humoring him.

"Nope." he grinned wider and not being able to stand it anymore, he told her, "Mr. Taisho came to see you today."

She almost spewed the vodka in her mouth all over the counter, "Sesshoumaru was here?" she asked incredulously, wiping her mouth on her sleeve, "He hasn't been here in months!"

Myoga nodded triumphantly, "He waited for you for a long time, too. Almost three hours, I'd say."

Kagome's eyebrows shot up and stayed there. Myoga thought she would be happy to hear that he had come to see her, even if she hadn't been there to meet him. Why then, was the face she gave him now such a terrified one. It looked pale and panic-stricken.

"Wait," he started, "Kagome you said yes, didn't you?" He waited for her answer and got none. This wasn't good.

At that moment, an intense pressure filled the room and it suddenly became difficult to breath. Kagome put a hand on her chest and heaved as the pressure gradually grew. She watched the other customers get up and take their leave, their discomfort apparent.

She and Myoga were left alone to face whatever was coming. It didn't feel like it would bode well for them.

The sound of the door was her only warning before Kagome turned around and met pure, unadulterated anger. She could feel it coming off of him in waves, though his countenance was as cool and collected as ever. He regarded her with a seemingly calm look and she leaned away from him.

For a split second, she was happy to see him. She had missed him so much in these past months that they had skirted around each other and now she got to see him again. But that split second passed and now she just wished she was somewhere else, away from everyone and especially Sesshoumaru.

For the first time in five months he was standing in front of her, and he looked none too happy. She felt sick.

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What's this? Is this.. Is this DRAMA!?!?!?!

I believe this is the beginning of the end my fellow cliffhangers. The downward spiral has begun!

Will it pick up again? I'll never tell ;)

Hope you liked it and I'm not too rusty to write well.

Review please! I missed you :)


	13. Chapter 13

"Explain yourself." Sesshoumaru ordered calmly.

Myoga, who did not want to get involved, just stood behind the bar, watching them closely to protect Kagome in case she needed help. He also had a hand on his phone in case he needed to call the police. He didn't hear Kagome respond to the question posed. Myoga looked from her to her opponent and his eyes widened enormously.

Sesshoumaru was the very picture of pure, unadulterated animosity. The demon's calm face was terrifying against his aura. It crackled with rage and confusion at her decision. His aura demanded an answer. Why didn't Kagome give him one?

"Explain yourself." he demanded again, sharply.

Kagome found that she couldn't say anything. Or do anything, for that matter. She could only gape up at him, terrified of what he would do if what she said turned out to be something he didn't want to hear.

Gaping didn't seem to please him either, for he grabbed her sternly by the arm and jerked her up into a standing position.

"Explain yourself!" he growled loudly. Kagome was too scared to do anything but look down at her bare feet. He gripped her chin and made her look at him. The anger she saw in his eyes was overwhelming. As was the pressure still stifling the room.

"Why did you say no?" he asked angrily when she still said nothing. It was unusual for him to speak so bluntly.

"I had to," she finally found her voice, "I love my jobs."

"These jobs that you love so much will never give you what I offer." he informed her coldly, looking into her eyes with an intense, glazed look.

"Monetarily speaking, no, they won't." she replied quietly.

"Monetary value aside," he continued, angered further by her reply, "I could develop and expand your abilities to unbelievable heights." his voice finished his statement in an awed, hopeful voice, almost as if he were still trying to convince her.

"Abilities?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Do you pretend to be ignorant?" he asked in disbelief, "Do you think every human can converse in seven languages? Do you think every human makes friends so easily? Do you think everyone has a voice like yours?" His voice had gotten louder again.

Kagome's eyes were like dinnerplates as he finished in an angry huff. He grabbed her by the shoulders, shocking her further and bent down to get eye-level with her. "You are an intelligent person." he stated, "Make the intelligent choice."

She clenched her jaw and her back stiffened. She knew what he was trying to imply. "I did." she said.

"You can do so much better than this!" he yelled angrily as he released her shoulders roughly, pushing her away, "Don't you know that?"

"_I_ don't think so!" Kagome yelled back, finally getting to her breaking point, "These jobs make me happy. That's more than most people can say!"

"This paltry employment makes you happy?" he asked disgustedly, "Surely, you can't be serious about these mediocre and third-rate-"

"How _dare_ you!?" Kagome yelled cutting him off. She was thoroughly angry now and she had had enough. He was insulting her friends and employers, whom she loved dearly. "How dare you insult my friends? I get that you're angry, that's understandable, but I never thought you would stoop so low as to insult other people!"

The pressure in the room increased yet again and though it was even more difficult to breath, she went on. She was on an angry torrent and would not be deterred until this jerk of a demon had gotten a big piece of her mind.

As for Sesshoumaru, he was very close to seeing red. How dare she accuse Sesshoumaru Taisho, leader of the last remaining Inu clan and owner of _Yamamoto Inc._ of _stooping._ As simple an accusation as it was, it was a gross falsehood.

Kagome was gasping for breath from the pressure as Sesshoumaru's mind snapped into clan leader mode. He raised his head to look her dead in the eye and growled dangerously at her. "You dare speak to me that way? _I am your Alpha, bitch!_" he roared.

Kagome's jaw set and she looked at him in shock and anger, "Oh no, Sesshoumaru," she said, her voice raising with every word, "This is not your Inu clan. I am _not_ your bitch and you are _not_ my Alpha!" her yell hung in the air as they glared at each other, Kagome breathing heavily.

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered, red flashing across them and Kagome watched as he turned and walked out of the room as fast as he could. The tears she held in finally spilled over her eyes and ran down her cheeks in big, fat drops. She knew the minute the pressure lifted that he was finally gone.

She sank onto the floor and leaned back against the bar and she cried. She cried her eyes out until she was hiccuping and gasping in the arms of Myoga, who had come around as Sesshoumaru left.

"Don't cry." he soothed, his voice shaky as well, "Please don't cry."

For some reason, this made her cry harder.

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Sesshoumaru started running as soon as the door swung shut behind him. He didn't bother with his car, he could run faster anyway. With his anger fueling his run, faster was an understatement. He was little more than a blur, passing cities in the blink of an eye. And his mind was moving as fast as his legs.

How could she do this to him? He had knowingly and obviously favored this girl over anyone he's ever met and she makes a fool of him. This _human_ makes a fool of him. No one, human or not, made a fool of Sesshoumaru Taisho and yet he had just walked away. He had walked away retaining his foolish status.

As he reached the property he owned on the edge of Japan, he felt himself giving up any scrap of control he had. He felt the brilliant release of light and his clothes being ripped apart as his body grew. He felt his skin disappear under thickening hair.

He ran until he got to the edge of the land that looked out over the ocean. When he threw his head back, it wasn't a cold howl that rang out, it was a roar that echoed over the violent water.

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He has not been that angry in quite some time and you get some pent up frustration when you're emotionless. Kagome just happened to be the trigger.

She hates crying too, poor thing.

Well, It's still gonna spiral down for a little while. Brace yourself!

Review please and tell me what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

One week.

Two weeks.

Three weeks had passed since Myoga drove a crying Kagome home.

He didn't believe her for a minute when she tried to convince him that she was only crying because she was tired, and if she hadn't been tired she would have had more control over herself.

He walked her up to her room, tucked her in for the night and made sure she was safe. After that he went home himself, worrying about her the whole way.

Naturally, the next morning she was completely recovered, as expected of someone who is practically allergic to drama. Mr. Taisho of course, decided not to appear at all, so no one knew what was going on with the infuriatingly cold businessman.

Kagome, however, resumed her working life as if they had never fought. She sang Italian songs on Tuesday's and Thursdays. She spoke Italian with Cosmo. Work at the shrine wasn't particularly busy so she brushed up on her history.

She even babysat for Sango on some days. But something wasn't right. No matter how he looked at it, she didn't seem like herself and it got worse everyday. Myoga was actually the only person to know that something had even happened and he didn't like being the only one who knew.

They never even talked about it. He never asked about how she felt on the subject and she never volunteered information. Thank goodness that Taisho man hadn't returned to the bar yet, because the feelings Myoga was harboring toward him weren't exactly warm and fuzzy. He would have worried constanty for Kagome, should that man walk in while she was at the bar, only she never came anymore.

It really made him blue, as well as angry at Mr. Taisho. It also made him suspicious; you didn't get that angry over a job refusal.

Two weeks after that night, Myoga finally hinted to Sango that Kagome needed someone to talk to that wasn't an old man. And so the young mother immediately scheduled a girls' night with her friend, planning on leaving her baby at home with her husband. When she asked Myoga why he thought Kagome needed it, he had given her the bare minimum of what he had come to call the ugly 'job incident'.

This piqued her curiosity and she devised a plan to get the details out of Kagome. Sango knew her friend well enough to know that she was inwardly screaming for someone to share her experience with, whether she knew it yet or not. That, and she needed to find out if this jerk was worth the time it took to beat him up or not.

The appointed night came and a stack of specially selected movies had been prepared. It started with Disney cartoons and ended with romantic comedies. She picked these movies because they were the ones that always cheered Kagome up when she was down.

Sango arranged them in random order and set them on the coffee table of Kagome's living room. She was surprised Kagome hadn't done it herself. In fact, Kagome wasn't even home yet.

She took the opportunity and looked around the house. She walked into the kitchen not noticing anything too different, at least nothing to give away Kagome's state of mind.

Just then, the door knob turned and Kagome herself walked through the door. Speak of the devil, as they say. She had a grocery bag in each hand as well as several adorning each arm and she hobbled in like she was entering an empty apartment. Sango watched her from the kitchen and waited to be noticed, which she really shouldn't have to do since they had been planning this night for a week.

She finally caught her eye and Kagome hobbled into the kitchen, "Sango! What are you doing here?" she asked as she set all of her grocery bags on the kitchen table.

Sango crossed her arms and gave her an expectant look, "I'm here for the girls night we've been planning for a_ week." _She watched as comprehension dawned on Kagome's face.

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about that." she said, genuinely surprised. She sat down on a chair and pushed her bangs away from her wide eyes. Sango decided to busy herself with putting away the groceries as her friend pondered her sudden memory loss.

"Well, anyway, what's been up?" Kagome asked and tried to smile a little. Sango noticed that it took her some effort to look happy, "It's been okay, how are you?" she frowned.

"Same old, same old." Kagome responded flatly, getting up to help put some of her groceries in the cabinets. Sango knew very well that nothing was 'same old, same old'.

Kagome wasn't even chattering as she put up the cereal boxes and moved on to place things in the refrigerator. It was like Sango wasn't even there. She watched her friend place a few bottles of rum in the fridge and wondered how it had gotten this bad without her even knowing something was wrong. Kagome never drank rum! She would always tell Sango that it was nasty stuff, too strong for her.

But Sango also knew that she drank stuff she didn't like when she was in a bad mood, or if she had had a crappy day.

The cheerful atmosphere around Kagome was seemingly gone, which disturbed Sango most of all. It was like she was on auto-pilot, living her life but not really there, putting up a front to keep people from asking questions.

It reminded her of someone filled with misplaced guilt and regret, someone who was trying to block memories. It reminded her of the time following the end of Kagome's previous relationship.

Sango understood now that when Myoga asked her to talk to Kagome, he wasn't asking for a sleep-over. He was asking for an intervention.

She needed to work fast if she wanted to see results. As soon as the last of the groceries were put away, Sango ushered her friend to the living room and sat her on the couch. Within seconds, Beauty and the Beast was on; one of Kagome's favorites.

In between the movies, the two would talk, catching up with each other's lives.

By the time they had gone through several more cartoon movies, there was a different atmosphere in the room. It wasn't much, but it was a step in the right direction. Kagome took the time to lose herself in her daydreams, just like she normally would. And that distracted her just enough to cheer her up a little bit.

As they moved on to the romantic comedies, Kagome regained some life back in her eyes. She laughed at the jokes and Sango had a feeling they wouldn't be needing those bottles of rum anymore. She had come just in time too. This had been her mistake the last time Kagome had been like this. She had left her alone without anyone to be with.

This was the correction of her mistake, what she should've done in the first place.

Sango thought, as she started The Wedding Date, that it was partially Kagome's fault it had nearly gotten bad the previous time. She had convinced everyone she was fine and almost sunk into depression alone. Sango couldn't quite remember what had saved her friend from a total downward spiral the last time, but whoever it was, they were owed a big thank you.

Eventually, they ran out of movies to watch. Sango looked at the clock as Kagome smiled contentedly and stretched her dormant muscles. It glowed _2:30am._ It was still fairly early in terms of sleep-overs, so Sango decided to provide a topic of conversation.

"Kagome, what the hell happened?" she asked bluntly. She never did like beating around the bush.

Kagome just looked at her in amusement, "How do you do that?" she asked with a smile, feeling much better, "You always see right through me."

"I might see through you, but I can't read your mind." Sango continued with a smirk, "Now what the hell happened to you?"

As she watched Kagome's face, she could practically see the story being summed up and condensed. Kagome never was one for gory details unless you asked for them

"Businessmen are stupid." she began with a serious face. Her friend couldn't help trying to hide a giggle behind her hand. It wasn't just because she thought that the statement was funny, though. It was because she was beyond relieved that Kagome was finally snapping back into herself again.

"And why are they stupid?" Sango asked, still giggling. Kagome took a deep breath and Sango prepared herself for a loud rant, which is exactly what she got.

"They're stupid because they offer you a job, and then avoid you for five months while you wait for them at a certain place so you can tell them your answer, but they never show up!" she paused in mid-yell, her voice getting louder.

Sango smiled, "How rude."

Kagome nodded at the obvious statement and continued, "And then you refuse the job and they freak out like it's the end of the world! They insult your friends and intelligence and you yell at each other until they storm off. You don't see them, hear from them, or know if they even exist anymore for weeks. Stupid, stupid businessman!"

Kagome slapped a pillow laying on the couch and huffed and crossed her arms. She decided to leave out the suffocating pressure so that her friend wouldn't worry.

Sango smiled softly and scooted closer to her on the couch. Kagome found herself enveloped in a hug and put a hand on her friends arm.

"You had us worried, there." Sango said. She knew that she had acted just in time.

Kagome smiled and hugged her back, more than thankful that her friend was there. Because if she wasn't there... well she didn't know what would happen, but it wouldn't be good.

Now that she thought about it, the last time she had felt this way was right after she and her boyfriend broke up. He had harrassed her and she didn't know what to do or how to cope with it.

What had kept her from going crazy that time?

Oh yeah, she thought in realization, that was when she had met him.

That was when she had met Sesshoumaru.

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Well I'm sorry it took so long. Gah this summer is busy.

Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, wish me luck!

Well, review and tell me what you think, even though this chapter is short.

3 ^_^


	15. Chapter 15

The middle of summer is always hot no matter where you live, and where Kagome lives was no exception.

Kagome was currently in nothing but her sports bra and shorts, leaning dramatically out of her apartment window and sweating buckets. She fanned herself and made a 'blegh' noise with her tongue out.

A sudden gust of wind made her groan in despair, "Even the breeze is hot." she mumbled, letting her head hang in defeat, "And I wanted to start jogging today."

She dragged herself away from the window and decided to lay down on the floor. It was just as hot as the window.

She reached a hand up to the nearby coffee table and pulled a stack of sheet music down. Holding it to her face, which was now sticky with sweat, she tried to focus on reading the notes and memorizing the words, but to no avail. It was too hot to even learn this new song Cosmo had given her to look at. She would have to apologize later for not knowing it.

She set the music back on the table and poked her bare stomach. It was much too soft for her liking, hence the jogging plan.

As she laid there, the heat continued to seep into her brain, which in turn made her mind wander into a minefield of daydreams.

She daydreamed about alot of things, from singing breathtaking songs at the restaurant to impressing crowds with her knowledge of history at the shrine. But mostly, she daydreamed about what it would be like if she had accepted Sesshoumaru's job offer. The secretaries wouldn't hate her, that's for sure. She would be a part of a whole new family and make a good amount of new friends. She would be close to Sesshoumaru and she'd be able to see him every day.

With so much time together, maybe he would have fallen in love with her...

Pulling away from those thoughts before she got carried away, she tried to think about something else. And she failed miserably. She ended up daydreaming about when she would see Sesshoumaru again. There were so many ways it could happen that her mind always exploded into scenarios and places that were different every time.

One thing was always constant in those daydreams though, and that was the fact that she would look fantastic when she saw him. It would be epic.

She would elicit a double-take from this demon, at least. She'd walk up to him, his back to her, and then she'd say hello.

Just as she pictured him turning to look at her, his stoic eyes widening fractionally, she heard the door to her apartment open.

Not bothering to look up, she listened to see if she could figure out who it was by the sound of their footsteps. None met her ears and before she could raise her head, a baby was placed on her stomach. He shrieked in happiness at the sight of his frequent babysitter.

"Hello Ranmaru!" she cooed and grabbed his hands, sitting him up on her stomach, "What are you doing here?"

His father's deep voice sounded from the couch he had seated himself on, "We were wondering if you would like to join us for a trip to the pool."

Kagome held the baby steady and sat up smiling, "Miroku! What are you doing here?" she unknowingly repeated her question.

"I just told you." he smiled broadly at her, "Would you like to come swimming with us?"

"You hate swimming." she accused with amusement. He was in Hawaiian patterened swimtrunks and a t-shirt, with his child in similar swimwear.

He closed his eyes seriously, "My son enjoys it, so I am willing to make the sacrifice for him." Said son squealed excitedly to get Kagome's attention. She looked down at the baby in her lap nuzzled his nose with baby-talk, "Your daddy just says that because all the pretty girls in bikinis want to talk to you."

"Why does everyone always say that?" Miroku asked confusedly.

Kagome could only laugh as she stood up and bounced the baby on her hip, "So, Sango asked you to come and get me so that I could keep an eye on you, is that it?"

He looked up sheepishly, "Yes."

"Alright, I guess there's no helping it." she smiled and walked to her bedroom with a babbling Ranmaru to get changed.

As it turned out, the pool they arrived at had no sunbathing beauties which left Miroku disappointed and glum. Fortunately, this did not hinder Ranmaru and Kagome's good time splashing around in the pool. Miroku got over his disappointed and watched them fondly from his chair by the poolside. But good time ended when Ranmaru started to cry, deciding he had had enough of the water. Kagome smiled as she walked up to Miroku who held his arms out to recieve the crying baby.

Kagome retrieved a bottle from the daiper bag they had brought and handed it to Miroku, who began feeding Ranmaru. He looked up once he was contentedly eating and cocked a brow at her as he struck up a conversation, "So how's that.. what did you call him? Oh yes, how's that stupid businessman?"

"I don't know." she spat and was about to continue until she realized who she was talking to. She looked at Miroku, horrified, "Sango told you about all that?!"

"Don't get mad at her, I forced her to tell me." he paused and looked at Ranmaru, "After all, I needed a reason as to why my boss knew my son."

"Your boss?" she looked at him in surprise and he chuckled. "Yes but I only work in a branch of the company, not the main building."

"Oh, that's good." she looked away, "He's not mean to you, is he?"

His forehead creased, "Why would he be?"

"He's mad at me, and I don't want him to be taking it out on you." she said bluntly. She looked ready to storm the office to take Mr. Taisho down, and Miroku would have let her, only he didn't want to cause an unnecessary fight. After hearing the whole story, he wanted them to be making up just as much as Sango did.

"Quite the contrary actually." Miroku reassured, "In fact, he recently saw me and inquired about my family. Ranmaru especially."

He watched her face soften, "Really." she said. Her mind was back to that day at the bar, the two of them watching Ranmaru together, drinking Smirnoff and Bourbon. Ranmaru had stayed asleep the whole time they had talked, which she remembered had been five hours. Somewhere in that conversation was the first time she had seen him smile.

When was that it that she had fallen in love with him?

"He also inquired about you." Miroku continued, breaking her out of her daydreams.

Kagome looked up and looked at him warily, "Really?" she asked, "What did he say?"

"I am not at liberty to tell you." he said smugly. Kagome gave him a freezing glare as he capped the bottle and brought Ranmaru up to his shoulder to burp him.

MIroku just smiled brightly at her and wrapped the sleepy baby in a dry towel. As they made to get up and leave Miroku offered her some advice, "You should go and talk to him."

"If he doesn't want to talk to me, I'm not going to force him." she answered. Miroku sighed at her stubbornness, "Kagome, you're my best friend next to my wife. I'm telling you as a friend who knows you and him: go and talk to him, he's waiting for you."

"Please don't get my hopes up, Miroku. He's not waiting for me." she held firm, "And besides, what kind of a guy goes three months without even trying to contact you?"

"One as stubborn as you." Miroku smirked. All Kagome could do was sputter a "Gah!" in exasperation at her friend's logic.

Meanwhile, Ranmaru drifted off to sleep on his father's shoulders as they walked home, listening to the voices cheerfully bickering around him.

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Alright, so one of them has realized her feelings. It's a start.

Short, I know but it leads into other things...

The next chapter will be posted on Monday. Oh my lord I can't wait!

Review please!


	16. Chapter 16

Home alone on a Saturday night _again_, Kagome thought as she suited up to go jogging. Her day had remained uneventful after her afternoon swim with Miroku and Ranmaru. She was now bent on getting some jogging done before the night was through. Her thinking was that it would be a lot less hot after the sun set.

Kagome threw her hair down and gathered it up in a bun on top of her head. Now she was ready.

She turned all the lights off, except for a lamp in the living room and locked the door on her way out. She stretched her arms and then her legs and started jogging as soon as she hit the stairs. She jogged out the door and stopped when she reached the next block.

Her chest was heaving way too much for only having jogged a block! "Boy am I out of shape!" She bent over to lean on her knees and tried to catch her breath which was currently a vey painful thing to do.

As she weezed and heaved, she kept telling herself that it was all for the best. The next time she saw Sesshoumaru she would have a healthy glow and be fit as a fiddle. With that in mind, Kagome straightened herself out and started again. She planned to jog all the way to the bar; that seemed a reasonable distance to her.

The next block over, she gave up and started walking. She was getting exercise as long as the blood was pumping, right? It didn't have to be running.

And what she thought about the night being cooler than the day was absolutely wrong. It was just as hot in town without the sun as it was with it. She had only run for two blocks and she could feel the sweat trail down into her sportsbra, which wasn't entirely unpleasant only it made her shirt stick to her stomach. She had reached the bar and was just about to dive headfirst into daydream land when she saw a man leaning against a wall. She planned to make a nice gesture and smile at him as she passed by; but when he turned and caught her eye, a familiar wave of chills swept through her.

She knew this man. His dark hair was tied in a high ponytail and his jacket was over his arm. His eyes met hers and Kagome felt something she hadn't felt for months.

She didn't like that one bit, so she turned around and started walking back to her apartment. That was enough exercise for one night. She started walking a little faster though, and tried to ignore the dull throb in her side.

As she heard him start to follow her, Kagome started to run and all she could think of was her fear. She was trying to remain nonchalant and act like she was just returning home after a jog but her fear was real.

Just three more blocks, she thought, three more blocks and I can lock my cowardly self in my apartment where it's safe.

"Kagome!" a voice called from behind her. The familiar, masculine voice gave her a knot in the pit of her stomach that made her want to throw up.

She didn't realize he had caught up with her until she felt a hand grab her arm and drag her into the nearest alley. Boy, did she feel stupid. Here she was, jogging at night _alone_ with no way to protect herself in case a man tried something on her. And here was a man trying something on her.

She turned her head and came face to face with someone she never wanted to see again unless it was in a prison line-up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked angrily through her teeth as she jerked her arm out of his grip. A smirk spread across his face.

"I came to see you." he smiled, animosity glinted in his blue eyes.

"Go away." she said almost pleadingly. His smirk grew wider as he took a step toward her. She backed up a few steps to stay away from him.

"I go abroad for nine months and this is the welcome I get?" he shook his head in disappointment, "And here I thought you missed me."

"What do you want?" she spat, skipping pleasantries. He raised his eyebrows at her malice, "To claim you, of course." he stated as if she should know, "I'm going abroad again and I need to know that you will remain faithful to me while I'm gone."

"You idiot, did you forget that we broke up!?" she asked him in disbelief.

"No." he said quietly, looking down, "No, we never broke up. You started ignoring me and avoiding me."

"You started stalking me!" she yelled desperately.

He looked up angrily, "I wouldn't have had to if you had been a good girl and accepted my claim the first time."

Kagome knew enough about demons to know that once you were claimed by one, that was it. Demons not only mate for life, once they claim you it is impossible to live without them. If he claimed her, she would be shackled to a miserable life forever. And this hateful man was indeed a demon. A wolf demon to be more specific. In fact, he was the heir to one of the last remaining wolf tribes in the world: the very rich, very elite Ookami clan. Kouga, by name

And she didn't like how he kept walking toward her.

"After I've claimed you," Kouga continued arrogantly, "you will have no choice but to stay with me. No male would be foolish enough to take you for himself and you woudn't be foolish enough to run away. But if you are, just remember," he paused and leaned in close, "I will always find you."

The message made her shiver and he saw that as an invitation to pounce. Kagome winced when he slammed her against the wall in an abusive kiss, bruises welling up under his hard fingers. She pushed against his chest with all her might, screaming against his mouth, but it proved to be in vain. She tried every self-defense move she could think of, but they were meant for humans, not demons with immunity to everything.

She even tried to knee him in between the legs, but that was as fruitless as her other attempts. She was getting more bruised with every passing second.

He pulled his mouth away and started to pull her shirt over her head. She fought desperately to keep it down, "No!" she screamed again. She tasted blood and knew that her lip was badly cut from the abuse on her mouth.

She silently prayed to God to get her out of this. She sent the desperate prayer up, still screaming at Kouga's face to stop and even getting a slap in while he tried to annihalate her shirt. Nothing she did phased him. She closed her eyes tightly and cried out as a claw deliberately tore a gash into her arm.

"You can't run away now!" he told her, laughing evily "No one's here to protect you!"

She didn't look as he tossed her shirt, now in shreds, to the ground to give himself better access to her neck and shoulders.

"I'm gonna make you _mine_, forever." he seethed, licking her neck and preparing to deliver the final bite. Blood was flowing from the cut on her arm, staining the concrete. He pressed her into the wall and grinded himself against her. His weight was suffocating her.

And then there was nobody against her, and she heard a thump on the opposite side of the alley. She opened her eyes.

Kouga was pinned to the wall by his neck, struggling to get enough breath to fill his lungs. He clawed desperately at the large hand around his throat, that was squeezing tighter. Then Sesshoumaru let out a terrifying growl that made Kouga stare at him, terrified.

"You. will. not." the feral Sesshoumaru pronounced every syllable, trying to control himself. All Kagome could see was his back, but she could tell that his countenance was slipping.

Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on the floundering wolf demon, his lip curling back over his teeth in a snarl. His hair started to move around him from some unseen wind and a strange light emanated from his body. A familiar, intense pressure filled the alley, almost making time slow down as his merciless claws dug into the wolf's neck.

Kagome ran to the other wall as the situation caught up with her. A murder was _not _going to happen here if she could help it. She stopped a few feet away from them to avoid the suffocating pressure and clenched her hands together just for something tangible to hold onto.

"Sesshoumaru!" she hollered desperately as Kouga's struggles became more frantic. Hot tears started flowing down her cheeks.

The pressure grew and Kouga was choking. Sesshoumaru's hand was like a steel trap that only closed harder the more the animal struggled. He would die soon if Kagome didn't do something. She quickly ran forward as cautiously as she could and stopped right beside Sesshoumaru. The pressure bared down on her entire body, threatening to crush her. She couldn't even take a deep breath and Sesshoumaru didn't seem to notice her at all.

She placed a shaky hand on his back and looked up at him. "Sesshou?" she pleaded. At first, his red eyes showed no change but much to her surprise and relief, this time he heard her.

The pressure suddenly receded and Kagome could breathe again. She put another hand on his back as his hair stopped flowing, falling once again at his sides. The strange light eventually left him and he let the struggling demon's neck go as if it had burned him. He stepped back as Kouga landed in a heap on the floor, coughing and gasping. Sesshoumaru's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at his hand, confused, until he turned around in a flash to face Kagome.

She jumped as his eyes suddenly met hers and she would have said something, only she felt very light-headed all of a sudden. She tried to give him a nervous smile but the lights were going out and the floor was coming up to meet her.

She thought she heard Sesshoumaru call her name but then it was completely black, and she couldn't hear anything at all.

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Im sorry I didn't upload yesterday! We've been having thunderstorms in the area and the internet was down!!

Well enjoy~~~

REview please!


	17. Chapter 17

Kagome woke up surprisingly warm in a pair of strong arms. The gentle bounce of walking had jarred her awake and she rubbed her eyes. Looking up, she met an affectionate golden gaze.

"Sesshou?" she asked sleepily.

"Go to sleep." the voice said. His voice was nice. It rumbled deep in the chest she was laying on. "Mmm kay." she complied readily and closed her eyes, falling asleep to the gentle rhythm of the steps he took as he walked, the strong arms tightening around her sleeping form.

He took them both to his apartment building, Totosai following them up to his room after a soft order from the demon. He was quietly told to fetch water, alcohol, and gauze bandages for Kagome's wound had not yet stopped bleeding.

Sesshoumaru walked straight to his room and pulled the blankets back. He laid Kagome down as gently as he could. It was then that he noticed how damp she was with sweat as she began to shiver.

He grabbed a t-shirt from his dresser and traded it with Totosai for the medical implements he had just returned with. Sesshoumaru waited outside the room as Totosai went in and gently changed Kagome's wet clothes for the dry t-shirt.

Totosai emerged and bowed out to return to his position at the door, accepting the quiet thanks of Sesshoumaru as he went. The demon took his armful of disinfectants and descended upon the sleeping miko.

Safe for now, Sesshoumaru pulled up a chair and set up shop. He rubbed some alcohol on the gash in Kagome's arm, holding her hand to keep her still. He dried it with a cloth, placed gauze over it and secured it with tape.

He checked the rest of her to take inventory of any more bruises or gashes she might have. He didn't find any more gashes, but came across plenty of bruises. There was a very prominent one on the back of her head, probably from being slammed against the wall before he could get to her. He pulled a blanket over her and sat back down, smoothing it out over her sleeping form.

He reached over and took hold of her hand again, stroking her palm with his thumb, watching her face and waiting for her to open her eyes. The concern he felt made him look like he was keeping vigil at a hospital bed.

It had been so long since he touched her, since he had seen her last. He will never know where he found the will to stay away from her for that long. Never again, he thought.

He hesitantly brought a hand up to hover over her face but pulled it back again. He then remembered she was asleep and tried again with more confidence, bringing a hand up to brush her cheek before unsuredly resting it there on the soft skin. Seeing she would not wake up, he slowly began to trace her eyelids, her lips and then her jawline.

Kagome sneezed and Sesshoumaru jumped in surprised, putting his hands right back where they were. He sighed and put a hand to his exhasperated face as he recovered.

The sneeze was followed by a small groan that reminded Sesshoumaru just how bruised and beaten she actually was, making him angry again when he was just calming down. She had been hurt by another man, and every time he saw that bandage over her arm he was reminded of it. He frowned at the sleeping girl. He had almst been too late.

In an effort to calm himself, he stood up and quit the room to see if there was anything else to distract him from going out and ripping Kouga's head off. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door, thinking to go to the office and immerse himself in paperwork.

A drowsy word reached his ears and brought him back to her bedside in an instant.

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When Kagome next awoke, it was still dark outside and it took her a few minutes to figure out where she was. She was in a warm, comfortable bed and her arm had been tended to. How had that happened? How had she gotten there?

She pulled back the blanket over her and swung her legs over the side of the bed, then noticed that she was in an oversized t-shirt. And she didn't remember changing her clothes. This wasn't her apartment either.

She pushed herself off of the bed and left the room, walking into a simply and stylishly furnished living room. She had never been in this place before but was too scared to leave, not knowing the area or if she would get lost. She walked to the window to see if she could place herself and found that she wasn't too far from her own apartment.

Deciding she wanted to leave and worry about who's rooms these were later, she turned around to start for the door but was stopped when she saw who was sleeping soundly on the black leather couch.

Sesshoumaru was lying on his back with his head resting on the arm of the sofa and his mouth wide open.

Kagome smiled broadly at the sight of the unkempt demon. He looked exhausted and dissheveled and very endearing to her. His arm was hanging off the edge and resting on the floor as well as one of his legs. The other arm was draped across his stomach which rose and fell evenly as he slept.

Of course as soon as she saw him, Kagome knew instantly where she was and didn't feel like she had to leave anymore.

She smiled and yawned, stretching her muscles before looking at him again. Tearing her eyes away from the demon she had missed so much, she went back into his bedroom, got into his bed and fell asleep again, loving how she was surrounded by him and his scent. She felt safe.

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okay so this is gonna have to hold you off till the next chapter! I went to camp for a week so i couldn't really work on anything, not having a computer and whatnot...

it was an awesome camp though. worship and sunburn! woot!

Everything will be revealed after this commercial break, so dont touch that mouse, and stay tuned!

thanks guys, read and review please! :)


	18. Chapter 18

Kagome was dragged out of sleep by the smell of breakfast. At first, she could've sworn she was home again, because her mother always rose with the sun and fixed breakfast for everyone in the house, but that thought was soon corrected as she looked at the unfamiliar comforter she was wrapped in.

The room was dark, the opposite of her sunlit room, and she didn't dislike the feeling of being in a cave it put out. She couldn't see much for the darkness but saw that there was a crack in the door and sunlight was streaming in from the open living room.

The smell of eggs was her favorite thing to wake up to, but the world outside of her warm cuccoon seemed very cold. Too cold to leave it just yet. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and burrowed deeper into its delicious warmth.

Sleep was just about to reclaim her when a loud crash from the kitchen chased it away. Kagome scrunched her eyes closed, even though whatever was cooking smelled great, whoever was there obviously wasn't used to working in the kitchen. Another series of crashes and a low oath made a small smile appear on her face, despite the way she was feeling.

Kagome pulled the blanket away from her, finally deciding to risk freezing her toes off. She needed to talk to Sesshoumaru before anything else happened to either of them. She threw her legs over the side and winced as her bruises caught up with her. Wow, it hurt. And the eggs didn't smell so great anymore.

One spot on her arm in particular she looked at to find a wet and bloody gauze bandage taped there.

This brought back memories of claws and teeth and rough treatment and a shiver ran through her. She felt her lower lip shake and tears start to form in her eyes and didn't try to stop them. She knew it was a good thing to cry out bad experiences, even if just for a little while. She knew she would feel at least a little better afterwards, she always did.

She was alone in a dark room and no one could see her so she let herself go and sobbed like there was no tomorrow.

What she didn't notice, was that the noise in the kitchen had stopped and Sesshoumaru was leaning on the outside of the door, out of sight, listening.

He wanted to go in and comfort her, but didn't know what he should do. He hated not knowing what she needed. It was very frustrating.

Another sob broke him down and he didn't care anymore. He walked in the room and found her sitting on the edge of the bed like she had been about to stand up, hugging a pillow. She looked up at him with a red, blotchy face, a runny nose, puffy eyes and swollen lips. There was a watery gasp and she quickly dove into the pillow she was smothering.

What could he do but sit down on the bed beside her and put a hand on her back to soothe her. It was an awkward hand but it conveyed a sincere gesture.

Kagome sobbed into the pillow harder once she felt the warm hand across her back. A few hours ago, the same hand had been wrapped around Kouga's throat to choke him. It had also saved her life, or rather what her life might have been.

She sniffed in surprise when the pillow she was throttling was suddenly yanked away. She reached to grab it back but instead was pulled onto a lap and enclosed in a pair of arms.

Kagome was angry at first and cried. Then she didn't know what to do and cried. Finally she used Sesshoumaru as a replacement for her pillow and held onto him for dear life and cried.

He held onto her as a solid support and simply let her cry. Forget that he had work that day. Forget the phone had started ringing. Forget that his shirt was getting wet. Forget everything but her.

A few minutes was all it took, and Kagome's cries were soon quieted.

He silently held her captive for as long as he could before bringing up something that might cause her to relapse. He took a deep breath, "We need to change the bandage on your arm."

He felt her shift her arm so that she could look at it and heard her mutter an 'Oh.' And then she looked up at him with an apologetic expression on her face.

"I got blood on your shirt. I'm so sorry." she said, looking ready to cry again.

"I don't like this shirt anyway and can now dispose of it." he stated, "You've done me a favor."

A shadow of a smile turned up the corners of her mouth and she looked back to her arm. He knew she was thinking deeply, but he also knew that the danger was past. The healing process had begun and she would soon start to recover.

She tried to get up and leave the confines of Sesshoumaru's lap, whose first instinct was to tighten his grip. She looked at him in surprise and reminded him of the bandage.

His reluctant release earned him a small smile as she walked toward the bedroom door. He noticed as she was silhouetted in the doorway how his shirt was long enough to be a dress on her short frame.

"You coming?" she asked as she turned around to look at him.

"Hnn." he answered and got up from the bed, grabbing the medical supplies on the bedside table on his way out.

He was stopped by a soft laugh from the girl in the kitchen in front of him. Kagome was standing in front of the dining room table, covering her mouth and nose along with the smile on her face.

The table was set for one, probably herself, with the plate empty. In a trash can by the wall, a pile of something that used to be eggs steamed and sizzled as if it were angry it had been thrown away. On top of the stove were more remnants of egg-like matter along with a severely mangled piece of metal. A cabinet to the left of the stove was opened and a waterfall of pots and pans had fallen onto the counter and floor.

"Um.." was all she could manage as a smirk came unbidden to her lips.

"Not a word." was the low reply.

Kagome's smirk escalated into a smile that barely supressed giggles. Who would have guessed that the all-too-perfect demon couldn't cook? She kept smiling even when he gave her a chilling glare and made her sit down in a chair at the table. She turned to the side and held out her arm as he kneeled in front of her, preparing the bandages and antiseptic. She watched his hands gingerly remove the tape and dirty gauze from her arm and gaped at the gash that had been underneath it.

"Any deeper and you would have needed stitches." he said as he got up to retrieve a towel. There was an edge to his voice as he said it. She nodded dumbly. He returned and knelt in front of her once more, this time pouring the antiseptic onto the towel and beginning to clean the wound. Kagome was amazed at how gentle he was being with her.

She couldn't help the feeling of gratitude that welled up in her chest. "Thanks Sesshou.." she said meekly. He simply nodded.

Feeling braver, she said it again, hoping to convey the depth of her feelings to him, "Thank you, so much." Many thanks went into that one 'thank you' and she knew he would get the message this time. She was thanking him for everything. For being there for her, for saving her life, and for taking care of her now.

His hands paused and he looked up at her, "You are welcome." he said, as if he was really saying 'how could I do anything else?'

They looked at each other for a while, locked in each others gaze. Kagome snapped out of it first, looking down at his still hands while a blush spread across her cheeks. His gaze remained on her for a second longer before looking down and finishing his task of cleaning and redressing her wound. When he finished, he looked up at her as he rose to his feet, almost taken aback by how she was smiling at him.

He smiled back and enjoyed the momentary look of surprise that crossed her face when he did.

She then proceeded to get up and walk over to the stove where evidence of his epic battle with the kitchen still lingered in gloppy, burnt, yellowy bits. She picked up the disconfigured frying pan and gave him a look.

"Is there another one of these?" she asked, holding it up. he suddenly realised what she meant to do.

"Hn." his gaze drifted over the piles of kitchen wear that had poured from the cabinets. She followed where his eyes were and moved toward the pile with an "Ah."

"Are there even any eggs left?" she asked jokingly as she grabbed a spatula poking out from the pots and pans mountain.

"Hn." he answered, watching her move around the kitchen as if she lived there. In fact, he rather liked the familiar feeling she had with everything in his apartment. It was indeed as if she lived there and the thought pleased him.

He watched as she dusted away the remains of his attempt at breakfast to make way for her pan and turned the stove on. She looked to her right to discover the two cartons of eggs he had bought at the store earlier and then opened them to find that out of 24 eggs, only two remained.

Kagome snorted in laughter and looked back at him in amusement. She giggled at his dark expression.

She then fixed them breakfast and they ate together in comfortable silence. Rain started hitting the large windows in the living room and thunder rumbled contentedly a few miles away. They ate contentedly, the quiet stretching on in the peaceful morning.

"I missed you." were the sudden words that surprised them both.

Kagome smiled brilliantly at him, "I missed you too."

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Sorry it took so long! Excuse for this one is the start of school by the evil administrators. Ugh.

Well, I hope you like this! Review and tell me what you think!

And a biggg BIG thankyou to whoever nominated Alcohol for the Dokuga awards :D Muchos gracias domo arigatou merci beaucoup and all that good stuff :)))

Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

The storm raged peacefully outside of the apartment as the morning went on. Kagome and Sesshoumaru moved to the couch to watch the rain beat on the floor to ceiling windows of the front wall of the living room, enjoying the time together. Things were flowing so naturally, Sesshoumaru didn't think twice about taking the newpaper Kagome handed him, retrieved from the hallway. Nor did he bat an eyelash at her laying down on the couch, using his lap as a pillow while he read it. Neither of them noticed how married they already seemed.

A knock sounded on the door suddenly, interrupting their domestic bliss. Sesshoumaru looked up from his morning paper and then looked at Kagome, now asleep, with her head on his lap. He closed the paper for a second and briefly weighed his options of getting up and answering the door or staying comfortable. The latter, of course, won out and he opened his paper again.

The knock sounded again and frankly, Sesshoumaru still didn't give a damn.

"I know you're in there!" came a muffled yell from the outside hallway, "Let me in, you bastard!" The knocking resumed furiously and didn't sound like it was going to stop any time soon.

Sesshoumaru finally closed his eyes and sighed, and the person on the other side of the door took this as permission to enter the room.

"What do you want, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru asked, not bothering to turn around. He winced as the door was slammed shut and clomping footsteps crossed the room, worried that it would wake Kagome, still asleep on his lap. When he got no answer he lowered his paper to find Inuyasha had walked in front of him and was staring at the girl in his lap with furrowed eyebrows.

"What's Kagome doing _here_?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru was about to ask him how he knew her when the girl in question stretched her arms above her head and opened her eyes. The first thing she did was look up and give him a sleepy smile. Inuyasha instantly forgotten, he smiled back down at her, "Good morning." he said.

"Mm, morning." she grinned, stretching again, "What time is it?"

Sesshoumaru flicked his wrist up to look at his watch, "A quarter after nine."

"Oh my gosh," she said, rubbing her eyes, "I can't believe I fell asleep again."

"I can't either." he teased.

She hit his stomach playfully, "I was tired." she turned her head to look out the windows, "Wow, it's still raining." The newspaper had been abandoned on the arm of the couch and Sesshoumaru rested one arm across the back of the couch and started running his fingers absently through her tousled and tangled hair with the other. Kagome groaned in dismay at his attentions, "Ugh, I must be a sight."

"You certainly are." he agreed. An imprint of the folds of his pants was on one side of her face and her eyes were swollen from sleep. There was even a hint of drool on the corner of her mouth. She was beautiful.

She gave him a look but laughed at his amused expression.

Inuyasha cleared his throat loudly, alerting Kagome to the presence of an observer. At the unexpected sound, she immediately shot up from Sesshoumaru's lap embarrassedly and finally looked at their audience. He was leaning on a table by the window, watching them curiously. She was embarrassed until she recognized who it was and her face lit up.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, now pleasantly surprised. A fang poked out of a smirk as he crossed his arms and looked at her, "Hey Kags."

"What are you doing here?" she asked cheerfully as she sat up and adjusted herself.

"I could ask you the same question." he arched an eyebrow at her. Kagome's blush at his words heightened the suspicions that had been forming as he watched them. What exactly was going on between these people he hadn't even know were together?

Kagome was saved from elaborating by Sesshoumaru looking at her confusedly and asking, "How do you know each other?"

Kagome answered quickly, "Inuyasha is my cousin, Kikyo's boyfriend." she told him, "He introduced me to Kouga, who used to be his best friend."

"Really." Sesshoumaru's eyes slid over to Inuyasha and narrowed dangerously, causing him to gulp nervously.

Inuyasha put his hands up defensively, "Hey, I didn't know he was going to turn into such an asshole, okay?" Sesshoumaru's face only intensified in the sudden flash of lightning. A boom of thunder soon followed.

"Wait a minute, how do _you_ two know each other?" Kagome interrupted confusedly, pointing at them and looking from one to the other.

"He's my _half _brother." Sesshoumaru said, making sure she knew they weren't completely related.

"Really?" she asked in an amazed tone, turning her wide eyes to Inuyasha. He laughed as he watched her suddenly realize the features they had in common and start looking for new similarities. "I see it now." she said sheepishly, "I guess I should've known with those demonic features of yours'."

"I'm only half demon." he said good naturedly, "My mother is human."

"Really." she said again. She hadn't known that Inuyasha was a hanyou. That would explain those ears she had always loved. It also gave her a happy feeling and a little bit of hope that there were occasions where demons did marry humans.

"What are you smiling about?" Inuyasha asked her playfully.

"Nothing." she grinned.

Sesshoumaru stood up then and held a hand out to her, effectively interrupting the loop he was not in, "Your bandage needs to be changed." he said. She nodded and took his hand, letting him help her up and lead her to the kitchen table where the medical supplies still sat. Inuyasha watched as she sat down in the chair and held out her arm. It was then that he saw the bloody and wet bandage on the inside of her elbow. Sesshoumaru removed the bandage and Inuyasha's mouth fell open at the gaping wound under it.

"Hm, you may need stitches after all." Sesshoumaru mused as he cleaned it with a wet cloth, "It should have stopped bleeding by n-"

"What the _hell _happened?" Inuyasha cut in angrily, quickly kneeling beside Kagome to get a better look.

"Kouga." she said quietly, watching Sesshoumaru's movements intently.

Inuyasha's demeanor immediately changed and he reached across her lap to grab her free hand, rubbing it soothingly, and looked sympathetically up at her, "Sorry Kags, I didn't know.."

She smiled at him in understanding, "It's alright." she said kindly.

"What did the fucker do?" he asked, his anger back full force. Kagome had to stop herself from giggling at his ears: they were twitching furiously.

"He proved that he had mental issues." she said simply, "Very violently."

Sesshoumaru looked up from his work with a look that told him she was leaving out important and infuriating detials that were going to give him murderous intentions. He stood up abruptly with a snarl, "Fuck." he kicked a chair, "That son of a bitch."

"Inuyasha, calm down." she said forcefully. Inuyasha knew that tone. When she used it, he would get hurt or in trouble if he didn't listen to it. He grumbled and stuffed his hands in his pockets but was too angry to stop pacing. He picked up the chair he had felled and sat in it.

Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru then, "How did you know where I was?" she asked innocently.

He sighed, dreading this question as he put the finishing touches on the gauze bandage now securely in place. He kept her hand in his and looked up at her, "After the argument, I kept thinking, 'Now that I'm gone, will that wretched man come back?'" he shook his head solemnly.

"I had to make sure you were still alright, still safe, so I took to checking on you about once a month, sometimes more."

"Fuckin' stalker.." Inuyasha grumbled.

Kagome chuckled and Sesshoumaru glared at him, "Last night, I walked by your house and saw your silhouette in the window. You were home, you were safe. But then I heard a scream that sounded an awful lot like you."

"I jumped over the traffic to the other side of the street and ran as fast as I could. I was almost too late." he finished quietly.

"But you weren't." Kagome said, "Actually, I was scared you were going to kill him. Your eyes turned red and it was hard to breathe. Your hair was floating." she said matter-of-factly but not without a hint of amazement and curiosity in her voice.

"Whoa.." Inuyasha breathed. His brother never lost control, not for anyone or anything. And when he did, someone always ended up dead, "How is he still alive?" he asked earnestly.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head and indicated Kagome. Inuyasha's eyes widened. He was impressed.

"I just brought you back to reality." she said defensively, "I didn't want a murder on my hands."

Both brothers chuckled.

"But wait," she stopped them, "If I was out jogging, who was the person in my apartment?"

"Oh shit!" Inuyasha interrupted loudly, "That's why I'm here!" he got up and ran for the phone.

Two questioning looks followed him as he dialed a number and held it to his ear.

"Sango called me last night, frantic, saying she couldn't find you or reach you and you didn't come home last night. She got everyone looking for you!"

"Oh no, she must have found my note saying I'd be back and waited for me!" the color had drained from her face, "I'm dead."

Kagome didn't have time to do more than put on the pair of jeans Sesshoumaru got out for her and follow him and Inuyasha out to his car. He had gotten Sango on the phone to call the search off and she was livid. They drove well over the speed limit and it was a miracle that policemen were nowhere to be found. The rain splattered the windsheild and lightning flashed the whole way there.

When they got to the apartment, Kagome was very soggy and was met with a fate worse than death; an angry best friend. They opened the door and saw Sango, as well as Miroku and Kikyo, waiting for them anxiously. Sango had been pacing but Miroku and Kikyo were sitting in the living room, already looking relieved that she had been found.

"I'm so sorry!" she yelled as soon as she saw Sango's glare. Inuyasha snuck around her to reunite himself with Kikyo. She glared at his back.

Sango wouldn't hear anything, "Do you have any idea how WORRIED I'VE BEEN?!" she yelled, "I had something to tell you so I came here. You left a note, so I waited for you. I heard you scream down the street and ran out looking for you. YOU WERE GONE!" Sango started crying and threw herself in Kagome's arms.

"I thought you were face down, dead in a ditch somewhere!" she sobbed. Kagome rubbed her back soothingly but was confused. Even under the circumstances, Sango was never this emotional. Kagome looked up at Miroku questioningly and got a twinkle in his eye that could only mean one thing.

"Sango," Kagome tried again, "What did you have to tell me?" The rain beat against the silence.

"I'm pregnant!" Sango sobbed angrily. Kagome couldn't help herself and laughed. Miroku laughed with her at her striken tone. He was perfectly comfortable now, since she had been with Sesshoumaru, he knew she coudn't have been safer.

Just then, the door burst open and in ran a very worried and wet Cosmo and Myoga. "Ma bella!" the Italian hollered tearfully and launched himself across the room to give Kagome a hug. Myoga scooped her up in a hug right after, careful not to squish the other two people hugging her at the same time. He let her go, beyond happy she had been found. He sat down next to Miroku on the couch and was about to talk to him when he caught sight of Sesshoumaru, standing quietly against the wall, watching and looking extremely out of place.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Sesshoumaru angrily, standing up.

Kagome quickly intervened before it got ugly. "Myoga calm down. We're alright now." she said from under the arms Sango and Cosmo, both crying out their relief, one hormonal and pregnant, the other passionate and Italian.

"Hm." Myoga wasn't convinced. Sesshoumaru simply inclined his head in respect and stayed where he was. This group was not his own and he was left out. Not that he minded, he was used to it, it was just uncomfortable because no one else knew what to do with him there.

Only Miroku was the exception. Here, outside of the office, was his comfort zone and he called out to his boss unabashedly, "Sesshoumaru, why don't you come and sit over here, I'll introduce you to everyone." Lightning flashed again, followed by the loudest boom of thunder yet that day.

No one was sure how to react to that. Kagome deposited her weepy recovering load on the couch and walked over to grab his hand. She dragged him into the center or the room, told him to sit wherever he liked, and disappeared into the kitchen to get a towel for her wet hair and a drink.

Sesshoumaru didn't want to sit too close to these people he didn't know, so he was relieved when he spotted an open chair. It was rather beaten up, but it was open, so he sat in it. The chattering room suddenly fell into amused silence as he did. Why it did, he had no idea.

Inuyasha, sitting on the couch with his arm around the quiet Kikyo, gave an ironic chuckle. They were all thinking the same thing. No one sat in Kagome's chair. She was going to kick him onto the floor for sure when she returned, and they were all going to watch.

She reentered the room with a glass of water in her hand and a towel around her shoulders and saw where Sesshoumaru was sitting almost immediately. She smiled and walked right over to him and sat down on his lap. He grabbed her waist and pulled her up to make her more comfortable.

Miroku laughed first, breaking the amazed silence.

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Sorry it took so long! Man, I say that alot!

So I brought in new people. Inuyasha curses way more than I would like him too, but what can I say? He doesn't listen to anybody.

I'll have to ask Kagome to get him to use more appropriate language. He was angry so i'll cut him some slack, just this once.

The romance between our lovers is really beginning to blossom here, and there will be fluff in later chapters, i promise. :D

Hope you liked it! and reviews are always appreciated!


	20. Chapter 20

Kagome smiled as she waved goodbye to the last of the former search party and closed the door behind her with a sigh of relief. "I thought they'd never leave." she said jokingly.

"Hn." Sesshoumaru agreed solemnly, still sitting in her favorite chair.

She turned from the door to face him. He gave her a conspiratorial smirk and held out his hand. She giggled and skipped across the room to take his hand. He immediately pulled her back onto his lap. She gained too much momentum skipping over though, and as she landed on him the chair bounced back and reclined with a loud 'SNAP!CLICK!BUMP!'

Kagome laughed out loud but shut her mouth when she realized it was so close to his. Kagome licked her suddenly dry lips, causing Sesshoumaru's gaze to travel down to her parted mouth. He tilted his head forward and Kagome couldn't move away. Instead, she found herself moving closer to him, tilting her own head slightly. Her eyes started closing as his breath ghosted over her lips.

HIs mouth closed over hers and their worlds exploded. Lightning flashed and thunder cracked as if to say 'finally'!

The kiss quickly deepened and Kagome tangled her hands in his hair to pull him closer. Sesshoumaru's clawed hand found its way up and under her shirt. He growled in pleasure as her nails dug into his scalp. He had been waiting so long to kiss her.

Kagome kissed him back fervently. If she would have had any of her wits about her she would have scolded herself for being so eager. But she really couldn't help it. She had been waiting too. She groaned and closed her eyes as Sesshoumaru pulled away and started kissing her neck. He traveled up to her jaw and she angled her head back to give him better access.

A warm and wet sticky feeling forced itself into her consciousness and she looked at the source of it in confusion. Sesshoumaru stopped kissing her and studied her face only to follow her gaze. They both looked in dismay at the gash on her arm that was divested of its bandage and bleeding profusely.

"We forgot to get stitches."

* * *

Merry Christmas everybody!

I guess I should officially tell you that this story is unofficially on hiatus. Or at least it was until I wrote this little snippet. I don't even know. Hope you enjoyed it! It's about time they kissed.

Happy Birthday Jesus! :)


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